Cantor skeptical of president's upcoming meeting with House GOP

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) doesn't seem to have high hopes for his caucus's upcoming meeting with President Barack Obama in February.

While Cantor described that just-announced meeting as "welcome news," he ultimately questioned "whether the President plans to meet WITH Republicans, or speak TO them."

“In 2009, on the rare occasion when we were invited to the White House, the president paid Republican proposals lip service while the cameras were on, only to completely rebuff those ideas afterward," Cantor said in a statement, hours after the White House announced the meeting.

"The problems faced by our country have grown too large for the president to respond to Republican and Independent views and solutions with indifference, like in 2009," he added. "I hope this is a sign that a new year will bring change.”

The White House announced the president would meet with both House Democrats and Republicans earlier on Tuesday.

Obama will sit down with Democrats on Thursday when they converge at the Capitol for their scheduled issues caucus. It is not exactly clear when the president will join House Republicans, but a White House spokesman said this morning it would probably be in February.

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