President Barack Obama and his 2008 adversary, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), are set to convene at the White House Wednesday afternoon for a closed-door meeting to talk about policy.
MSNBC's First Read reports that the two met last December to discuss legislative action on the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and the passage of the Dream Act, but that the latest invitation, set for 2:05 pm, comes amid a different set of considerations:
A senior administration official tells NBC's Savannah Guthrie that today's Obama-McCain meeting is the result of a call the president placed to McCain after the Arizona senator's op-ed praising Obama's handling of the Tucson shootings. A McCain aide tells Guthrie that the two men will likely discuss Egypt, free trade, earmarks, and immigration.
While Obama and McCain had also tried to bury the hatchet shortly after the election in 2008, tensions between the two appeared to have flared at times during the past two years.
At a health care summit last year, the two notoriously clashed when Obama sharply told McCain, "we aren't campaigning anymore."
"I'm reminded of that every day," McCain responded.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M) is also expected to meet with the president Wednesday.
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