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Dems rebuff invite; shutdown continues

WASHINGTON — The White House ran quickly into the limits of trying to bypass Speaker Nancy Pelosi in shutdown negotiations when rank-and-file House Democrats declined an invitation to lunch Tuesday with President Donald Trump.

The administration is trying to peel off Democratic support for Trump’s demand for border wall money and negotiate directly with centrist lawmakers and some newly elected freshmen, including those in districts where Trump is popular.

Pelosi gave her blessing for lawmakers to accept the White House invitation, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “unfortunately” no Democrats accepted.

The White House did not say which Democrats were invited, and several freshmen Democrats contacted by The Associated Press said they had not received an invitation.

One centrist Democrat said the administration strategy was “grasping at straws.”

Sanders said instead the president would be dining instead with nine Republicans. “The president looks forward to having a working lunch with House Republicans to solve the border crisis and reopen the government,” Sanders said.

The outreach was a shift for the White House, as the shutdown has no resolution in sight.

House Democrats announced they would cancel their district work period next week and have lawmakers remain in Washington amid the shutdown stalemate.

Pelosi had approved of lawmakers attending the meeting, telling her team that the group can see what she and others have been dealing with in trying to negotiate with Trump to end the shutdown.

Pelosi predicted that after meeting with Trump the lawmakers will want to make a “citizen’s arrest,” according to the aide, who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lawmakers invited to the White House include centrist Democrats from districts where Trump is popular, including freshmen.

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., said he attended a meeting of fellow centrist Democrats on Monday night and that a handful of members, most of whom represent districts Trump carried in 2016, were invited.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, another centrist Democrat, said the White House is “grasping at straws.”

“The majority of Americans understand exactly what is happening here,” he said. “The president could open the government tomorrow and he refuses to. We’re very conscious of the fact that this is a bully and when you allow him to succeed by holding the government hostage you can expect to see that play run again.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor that it’s up to Democrats to get the country off the “political carousel” of the shutdown fight.

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