President Barack Obama plans to address the economy, national security and a range of other issues when he hosts congressional leaders from both parties at the White House on Tuesday in hopes of finding areas where the two sides can work together.
With Republicans in control of Congress, the big question is whether the two parties can agree on compromise legislation on issues like trade, tax reform and infrastructure, where the parties have acknowledged there is some agreement. But Republican leaders suggested the President’s veto threats against a series GOP-backed bills does not bode well for cooperation.
“Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, they were able to find common ground,” Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) said Wednesday, speaking of the then-house speaker and president. “They were able to find common ground and I don’t think it started with veto threats.”
Still, the White House was hopeful the discussions would be constructive.
“I certainly think that there’s been adequate attention given to those areas where we disagree,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday, previewing the meeting. “The President is looking forward to a robust, constructive discussion on those areas where we do agree. They do exist and the President is looking forward to talking about them.”
But one big area of disagreement is over the executive action the President announced last year providing relief from deportation to millions of undocumented immigrants. Republicans plan to send to the Senate a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year, but blocking any agency efforts to carry out the executive action.
“Our goal here is to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday in his weekly press conference. “Our second goal is to stop President’s executive overreach. This is not the way our government was intended to work. The President said 22 times that he didn’t have the authority to do, what he eventually did.”
The White House has already said the President would veto such a bill.
Citing the Paris attacks last week, Boehner also told reporters he would like the pPresident to provide leaders with an update on the administration’s fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
“We also hope that the President will have an update for us on the Authorization on the Use of Military Force in regard to our fight against ISIL,” he said. “The events in Paris last week remind us just how real that terrorist threat is.”
An aide to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said he would not be attending today’s White House meeting. The senator, who is still recovering from the injuries he suffered in a New Year’s Day exercising accident, is working for home in accordance with his doctor’s orders. He has been in frequent contact with others in Democratic leadership.
