White House, lawmakers hopeful after ‘positive’ budget talks

"We had a positive and productive meeting and all parties have agreed to continue discussing a path forward to quickly resolve all of the issues ahead of us,'' said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a joint statement.

By: AP | Washington | Published: January 4, 2018 9:03 am

White House hopeful after 'positive' budget talks

Both sides issued bland but positive statements after the session, which lasted more than an hour and included White House budget director Mick Mulvaney. (Source: REUTERS/File)

The White House and top congressional leaders from both major parties issued upbeat assessments Wednesday after a Capitol Hill meeting in which they forged progress on a stack of unfinished Washington business, starting with a hoped-for bipartisan budget deal.

The session in the office of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., came with little more than two weeks before the next threatened government shutdown. Topping the agenda was an effort to spare both the Pentagon and domestic Cabinet agencies from spending cuts.