Obama visits top aides, Republican senators on budget shutdown

8/1/13 10:26 PM EDT

President Barack Obama dropped by a meeting Thursday between his top aides and Republican senators on the looming budget showdown – a sign of the White House’s growing concern about an impasse over government spending.

The visit, which was not on the official schedule, did not produce a breakthrough of any kind, according to a source in the room. But all sides agreed to continue to discuss their disagreements, which are significant, the source said.

The small group of Republicans, which included Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, was at the White House to meet with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell. McDonough had met earlier Thursday on Capitol Hill with Democratic senators who have discussing fiscal issues with the White House and Republicans.

The meeting followed the collapse of a bipartisan transportation and housing bill in the Senate after the Republican leadership pressured GOP senators who had previously backed the bill to withhold support. And a day earlier, the House GOP pulled its own version of the bill after failing to muster together enough votes.

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