Obama To Host Dinner For Senate Republicans, Meet With GOP Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

Enveloped by political gridlock, President Barack Obama is reaching out to rank-and-file Republicans, meeting for dinner with GOP senators Wednesday night and then visiting Capitol Hill next week for separate meetings with Senate and House Republicans.

A congressional aide said the lawmakers scheduled to attend Wednesday's dinner are Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte, Pat Toomey, Bob Corker and Ron Johnson. Graham put together the guest list, a White House official said.

Obama and the lawmakers planned to meet on neutral territory, with dinner scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at a hotel near the White House. With a snow storm barreling down on the Washington region, the White House said the dinner could be postponed if the weather deteriorated throughout the day.

The dinner will be followed up by a rare trip by Obama to Capitol Hill. He'll meet there with Senate Republicans Thursday and hold a separate meeting with House Republicans, although a date for that meeting is yet to be scheduled. The president will also meet with Senate Democrats on Tuesday.

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