Republican victors of Tuesday’s US congressional elections broke bread with Democratic president Barack Obama today. On the menu besides sea bass: whether the two sides can put aside bitter battles over healthcare and immigration and enact some legislation in the two years to come.
In a small private dining room, Mr Obama was sandwiched between Republican Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Senator Harry Reid, who will lose his title as Senate majority leader in the new Congress after a wave of Republican support swept Democrats out of power.
Beside Mr Reid: Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, whose party takes control of the Senate in January.
Open to ideas
“Republicans had a good night,” Mr Obama acknowledged to reporters. But he said he had promised Mr Boehner and Mr McConnell to be open to good ideas for legislation, whether from Republicans or Democrats.
“The American people just want to see work done,” Mr Obama said before the leaders tucked into a lunch of herb-crusted sea bass, a salad of Bibb lettuce and pumpkin tart.
“They’re frustrated by the gridlock. They’d like to see more cooperation. I think all of us have the responsibility ... to try to make that happen,” said Mr Obama, whose second and last four-year term ends in January 2017.
Remarks in the run-up to the meeting suggested Mr Obama and the Republicans would keep going at each other no less than they did before Republicans seized control of both houses of Congress earlier this week.
Mr Boehner and Mr McConnell have said Republicans intend to send Mr Obama legislation repealing all or parts of the president’s landmark 2010 healthcare law.
Mr Obama has pledged to ignore Republican warnings and use his executive powers to ease some restrictions on undocumented residents, since House Republicans have steadfastly refused to advance immigration legislation.
The president said he wanted to focus today’s discussion on building momentum in the economy where there is support from both parties. This could include boosting manufacturing and exports and investing in early childhood education.
Economic focus
Republicans want to concentrate on jobs and the economy too, a House Republican leadership aide said.
“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.
Today’s meeting was expected to focus on some major bills that must be passed promptly, once Congress begins its post-election “lame duck” session on Wednesday.
It will be the “old” Congress, the one that ends its legislative session in mid-December and has a Democratic Senate pitted against a Republican House, that must produce these bills.
At the top of the list is a $1 trillion spending bill to keep the government running beyond December 11th, when current funding runs out.
Mr Obama said he wanted to update leaders on the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and the administration’s work to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Other bills likely to see action in the month-long session include one to extend some temporary tax provisions, a bill renewing Pentagon programs and an expiring terrorism risk insurance bill that is important to developers of major construction projects in big cities.
Congress is expected this year to debate Mr Obama’s plans for arming and training Syrian rebels. Authorisation for these activities expires on December 11th. It is expected also to begin debating whether to formally authorise military force against the Islamic State, but a vote might not come until next year.
Reuters