Black Caucus rejects Trump invitation for WH meeting

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Wednesday rejected President Trump’s invitation for the 49-member group to join him at the White House for a meeting, citing his unresponsiveness on previous attempts at policy engagement as proof that Trump isn’t interested in working with the members beyond a photo op.

In a letter posted on Twitter, the caucus explains that it won’t be a part of Trump’s “social gathering.”

The CBC voted today to decline this @WhiteHouse invitation for a follow-up meeting w/ @realDonaldTrump. Here’s why: https://t.co/emjn81IDMK. pic.twitter.com/82Bn7ATW3i

— The CBC (@OfficialCBC) June 21, 2017

Despite repeated attempts to communicate with the White House, “we have seen no evidence that your Administration acted on our calls for action,” Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the caucus’s chairman, wrote. “It has become abundantly clear that a conversation with the entire CBC would not be entirely productive.”

{mosads}Richmond continued, saying that Trump’s invitation to the entire 49-member group wouldn’t be productive after their concerns about the situation in Flint, Mich., and other issues had fallen “on deaf ears.”

“The CBC, and the millions of people we represent, have a lot to lose under your Administration,” Richmond wrote to Trump. “I fail to see how a social gathering would benefit the policies we advocate for.”

The line in Richmond’s statement was a reference to the CBC’s statements in March urging Trump in a meeting to focus on black issues after the president asked the black community “what do you have to lose” during a speech.

“We have a lot to lose,” Richmond said in March following the meeting, which included Vice President Mike Pence Trump and Trump senior adviser Omarosa Manigault.