President Obama on Monday will hold his second news conference in as many weeks in his push to get members of both parties to agree to a deal that would raise the national debt ceiling but also include measures that would reduce the federal budget deficit.
The 11 a.m. news conference in the press briefing room will come before Obama meets again with congressional leaders to try to rally them behind his vision for a proposal that would reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next 10 years.
Obama is trying to use his bully pulpit as president to get leaders in both parties to reach an agreement, but is so far having limited success, as Democrats say they oppose changes that would reduce benefits in Social Security and Republicans oppose any tax increases.
The president is unlikely to adopt the tone of his last press conference, when he unfavorably contrasted Congress with his two daughters. But Obama could challenge both parties to ignore activists in their bases and strike a far-reaching deal to reduce the deficit.
Obama helped push Congress toward a deal in December that extended tax cuts but also unemployment benefits. But he is facing a tougher task this time, trying to persuade members of both parties to take controversial stances on polarizing issues.
More coverage of the negotiations:
— With clock ticking, debt talks are deadlocked
— The U.S. has defaulted before. Sort of.
— No grand bargain for Obama, Boehner
— Obama will still seek $4B debt deal, aides say
— Get the latest news at PostPolitics
By Perry Bacon Jr. | 05:33 AM ET, 07/11/2011 ???initialComments:true! pubdate:07/11/2011 05:33 EDT! commentPeriod:3! commentEndDate:7/14/11 5:33 EDT! currentDate:7/13/11 12:27 EDT! allowComments:true! displayComments:false!
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