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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Less than two weeks before much of the government runs out of money, President Trump on Tuesday escalated the threat of a shutdown, accusing Democratic congressional leaders of plotting to use their leverage to raise taxes and flood the country with undocumented immigrants. The Democratic leaders, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, responded to the president’s provocations by pulling out of a scheduled White House meeting meant to address the thorny issues that lawmakers are facing as the end of the year approaches. Mr. Trump then doubled down, posing for television cameras at the White House next to empty chairs and calling his would-be negotiating partners weak on crime, weak on immigration and weak on the military. “They’ve been all talk, and they’ve been no action, and now it’s even worse,” Mr. Trump said. “Now it’s not even talk.” The spectacle was an unpromising start to the difficult negotiations ahead, with a deadline of Dec. 8, when government funding runs out. Democrats hold significant leverage because Republicans do not have enough votes to pass a spending measure next week without some Democratic support. Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer hope to use the negotiations to help undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children and to provide financing for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, whose funding lapsed at the end of September. And on Capitol Hill, some progress was made on Tuesda... Link to the full article to read more