President Biden met with congressional leaders at the White House Tuesday morning to discuss legislative priorities for the final weeks of the year.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., attended the meeting with the president.
Vice President Harris also attended the meeting, which took place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Other attendees included White House chief of staff Ron Klain; assistant to the president Steve Richetti; Louisa Terrell, the director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs; and Grisella Martinez, the director of legislative affairs for the vice president.
The meeting comes after the midterm elections, in which Democrats narrowly retained control of the Senate and Republicans took control of the House of Representatives by a thin margin.
“I asked top leaders to come in and talk about legislation,” Biden said Tuesday morning ahead of the meetings. He said they have “a lot to do, including resolving the train strike.”
“Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it,” Biden said. “Not an easy call, but have to do it.”
Biden said he hoped the White House would be able to “work together” with congressional leaders on that, as well as on new funding for COVID and the war in Ukraine.
“We’re gonna find common ground, I hope, because Americans want us to work together,” Biden said. “We’re ready to get work done.”
When asked by a reporter if he is “confident” they can avoid a rail strike, Biden said: “I am confident… I am confident.”
Monday evening, Biden called on Congress “to pass legislation immediately to adopt the Tentative Agreement between railroad workers and operators – without any modifications or delay – to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown.”
“Congress has the power to adopt the agreement and prevent a shutdown,” Biden said Monday. “It should set aside politics and partisan division and deliver for the American people.”
He added: “Congress should get this bill to my desk well in advance of December 9th so we can avoid disruption.”
The agreement that Biden wants passed would give three unpaid days off a year for engineers and conductors to tend to medical appointments as long as they schedule them at least 30 days in advance. The railroads also promised in September not to penalize workers who are hospitalized and to negotiate further with the unions after the contract is approved about improving the regular scheduling of days off.
Biden says the deal also “provides a historic 24% pay raise for rail workers.”
If Congress votes to impose the deal agreed upon in September, that would end the union’s push to add paid sick time. The four unions that have rejected their deals have been pressing for the railroads to add that benefit to help address workers’ quality of life concerns, but the railroads had refused to consider that demand.
The meeting also comes as congressional Democrats race to secure a year-long government spending bill before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in January.
Democrats want a bill that would keep the government funded from Dec. 16, when current funding terminates, until the fall of 2023. That would allow President Joe Biden’s administration to fund pet initiatives while blocking the Republican House from exerting its influence immediately.
“Government funding should rise above politics when the well-being of our troops and our national defense is on the line,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor, noting the geopolitical threats posed by Russia and China.
Some House Republicans argue that Congress should enact a short-term funding bill until January, which would give Republicans more leverage over Biden and Democrats as they negotiate a longer-term spending bill.
Democrats say the work already done on a year-long budget would go to waste if Congress waited until January. Any proposed spending bills for the current fiscal year would expire and have to be reintroduced if they aren’t passed when the new Congress begins on Jan. 3.
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Unless Congress approves some new spending bill by Dec. 16, the federal government will face a partial shutdown.
Other issues might also be discussed at the White House Tuesday. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Biden told reporters he would push Congress to enact a new assault weapons ban before Republicans take control of the House in January.
“I’m going to try,” said the president. “I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons.”
Democrats control the House by a narrow margin until January. The Senate is split 50-50 between both parties, and the Democrats will keep control of the Senate next year. For any gun control package to pass, at least 10 GOP supporters will be needed to break the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Biden said he would reach across the aisle and work with Republicans in Congress on gun control.
“I’m prepared to work with my Republican colleagues. The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” Biden said.
But the president said that “under no circumstances” would he support proposals to make cuts or changes to Social Security or Medicare.
“That’s not on the table, I will not do that,” Biden said. “I will veto any attempt to pass a national ban on abortion.”
He added: “But I’m ready to compromise with Republicans where it makes sense on many other issues, and I always put the needs and interests of the American people first.”
Looking ahead, Biden said the American people have “made it clear they don’t want every day going forward to be a constant political battle.”
“There’s too much of that going on and there’s too much we have to do,” he said. “The future for America is to promise not to be trapped in an endless political warfare. And I really mean it.”
Throughout the midterm election cycle, Biden warned that the future of democracy was at stake and specifically warned against the ideology of “ultra MAGA” Republicans.
“I don’t think we’re going to break the fever for the super mega MAGA Republicans,” Biden said. “I think they’re a minority of the Republican Party. I think the vast majority of the members of the Republican Party, we disagree strongly on issues, but they’re decent, honorable people.”
Biden said those Republicans are “honest, and they’re straightforward” and “decent folks.”
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, Tara Prindiville, Haris Alic and The Associated Press contributed to this report.