UPDATE: A statement issued by the White House Thursday evening seems contradict the New York Times' initial report that Obama rejected the GOP's short-term debt limit plan. The White House says "no specific determination was made" during the meeting.
Either way, the two sides still have been unable to reach an agreement.
Read the entire statement below:
“The President had a good meeting with members of the House Republican Leadership this evening; the meeting lasted approximately an hour and a half. The President, along with the Vice President, Treasury Secretary Lew, Denis McDonough and Rob Nabors listened to the Republicans present their proposal. After a discussion about potential paths forward, no specific determination was made. The President looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle. The President’s goal remains to ensure we pay the bills we’ve incurred, reopen the government and get back to the business of growing the economy, creating jobs and strengthening the middle class.”
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President Barack Obama rejected the GOP's short-term debt limit plan because it does not also end the partial government shutdown, the New York Times reports.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reportedly left Thursday's meeting at the White House with Obama without issuing a public comment to the press.
However, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said he and fellow Republicans "had a very useful meeting" with Obama, despite his rejection of their compromise. He also said "our teams" will continue discussing the issue on Thursday night.
Credit: Getty Images
Even though House Republicans softened their long-standing demands, Obama's rejection isn't entirely a shock given that Senate Democrats had already declared it unacceptable on Thursday.
"Not going to happen," declared Majority Leader Harry Reid, standing outside the White House after he and fellow Democrats met with President Barack Obama. Reid referred to a Republican plan to leave the 10-day partial government shutdown in place while raising the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit and triggering negotiations between the GOP and Obama over spending cuts and other issues.
Heartened by any hint of progress, Wall Street chose to accentuate the positive. After days of decline, the Dow Jones industrial average soared 323 points on hopes that the divided government was taking steps to avoid a default. Reid's dismissive comments at the White House came at the end of the trading day.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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