- WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is summoning top Democrats from the House of Representatives and Senate to the White House Wednesday afternoon for talks on raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says the meeting will take place shortly before 3 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT). When asked why Obama was not meeting with Republicans, Carney would only say there were no other meetings to announce.
Wednesday’s meeting comes as a new bipartisan budget plan is emerging in the Senate. The “Gang of Six” plan would slash the deficit by almost $4 trillion over a decade through a mix of spending cuts and new tax revenues. Obama has praised the plan.