President Obama is not only meeting with Speaker Paul Ryan for the first time Tuesday, but he’s asked the Wisconsin Republican to stay for lunch at the White House, too.
Mr. Obama will host Mr. Ryan in the private dining room adjacent to the Oval Office, after they meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss legislative priorities, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday.
It will be their first head-to-head meeting since Mr. Ryan took over the speaker’s post in October. The speaker recently said of Mr. Obama’s liberal agenda that the president is operating in “fantasyland.”
Mr. Earnest said the president and the Republican leaders are likely to discuss issues such as helping Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, authorizing a new use-of-military-force action against the Islamic State, trade and combatting the nation’s heroin epidemic.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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