Obama Lunches with Congressional Leaders
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Pete Souza / The White House(WASHINGTON) — Water, not bourbon, was on the table for President Obama’s post-election lunch with congressional leaders on Friday. And if their stone-faced expressions are any indication of mood, maybe they could use a glass of the latter.
House Speaker John Boehner and likely new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t so much as crack a smile as Obama welcomed them for a meal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sat expressionless as well.
The president reiterated that “Republicans had a good night” on Tuesday for which McConnell and Boehner deserve credit.
They ran “very strong campaigns,” Obama said.
“What we’ve seen now for a number of cycles is that the American people just want to see work done here in Washington. I think they’re frustrated by gridlock, they’d like to see more cooperation,” the president said. “And all of us have responsibility, me in particular, to make that happen. This gives us a good opportunity to explore where we can make progress on behalf of the American people.”
The agenda is expected to include near-term issues like Ebola and the fight against ISIS, as well as a discussion of legislative priorities for the next two years.
“I am not going to judge ideas based on whether they are Democrat or Republican. I’m going to be judging them based on whether or not they work,” Obama said, using a familiar line that signals he is not going to make a significant course correction in spite of the GOP wave.
Ahead of the meeting, a House Republican leadership aide said that Boehner and McConnell planned to focus on economic measures in the meeting.
“The top issue in this election was jobs and the economy. Republican leaders will remind the president that the list of House-passed jobs bills is a great place to start for immediate, bipartisan action to help create more private-sector American jobs,” the aide said.
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