Obama invites Paul Ryan to lunch today
President Obama has invited GOP vice presidential candidate and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to lunch today, a senior administration official confirmed.
As with Mr. Obama's recent flurry of phone calls and dinner Wednesday with Republican senators, the luncheon topic with Ryan is pursuit of a so-called grand bargain on deficit reduction - one that would include tax and entitlement reform.
Ryan, R-Wisc., is drafting the House GOP budget resolution and is a leading party voice on tackling the rising costs of Medicare and Medicaid - though Obama has harshly criticized Ryan's idea of creating a voucher-based alternative to Medicare.
Ryan will be joined at the luncheon at the White House by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee.
Mr. Obama invited Ryan to lunch during a phone call earlier this week.
