Rep. Elijah Cummings, at long last, is set to sit down Wednesday with President Donald Trump to try to find common ground, after a public back-and-forth over prescription drug prices, according to the Maryland Democrat’s spokeswoman.
The President had previously called Cummings and asked to meet him after watching the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee discuss drug prices on a morning cable news show. Cummings agreed, and their staffs began working out the details. That’s why Cummings was surprised when Trump accused him of backing out of the meeting during his recent surprise news conference.
“He wanted it, but we called, called, called and I can’t make a meeting with him. Every day, I walk and say, ‘I would like to meet with him,’ because I do want to solve the problem,” Trump said of Cummings, adding: “He probably was told by (Senate Minority Leader Chuck) Schumer — or somebody like that, some other lightweight — he was probably told, he was probably told, ‘Don’t meet with Trump. It’s bad politics.’ “
Cummings responded at the time in a statement saying: “I have no idea why President Trump would make up a story about me like he did today.”
He also told CNN he looked forward to working out a time to meet with the President and he wasn’t worried about the Trump’s comment, waving it off as bad information that someone on his staff gave him.
The Maryland Democrat will head to the White House with Democratic Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont and the president of Johns Hopkins Hospital, the leading medical center in his Baltimore district.