Finding a deal this week to avoid a government shutdown will come down to a negotiation between President Trump and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), whose relationship is so bitter that lawmakers in both parties see little chance of an agreement.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) this week on how to avoid the looming shutdown, a White House official told The Hill on Monday.

While Jeffries is an important player, Schumer has more leverage because he proved last week that Senate Democrats have the votes to block any partisan funding measure passed by the House. It will take 60 votes to get anything through the Senate.

The last time Trump and Schumer tried to negotiate something was at the start of August, when Republicans were trying to get more than 140 of Trump’s stalled executive branch nominees past a Democratic blockade in the Senate.

It didn’t end well. Trump scuttled the negotiations by delivering a blunt directive to Schumer on social media: “Go to hell.”

Schumer rips Trump on a near-daily basis on the Senate floor, accusing the president of being a wannabe dictator and serial liar who puts his own interests and even Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests ahead of what’s best for the United States.

Senate Democrats slow-walked Trump’s lower-level executive branch nominees this year, refusing to confirm a single civilian nominee by unanimous consent or voice vote. The unprecedented obstruction of routine nominees resulted in Republicans changing the Senate rules by invoking the so-called nuclear option.

Trump dubbed the Senate Democratic leader “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer” early in his first term and mocked him again over the summer for repeatedly stepping on political landmines on crime, immigration and transgender rights.

This has left observers decidedly pessimistic about their chances of reaching a deal.

“Schumer and Trump, do they have an interest in and can they get together and do something? I think it’s very, very tough for Schumer. I think he’s got a left flank in his party that does not want to deal at all........

© The Hill