Pelosi, Obama to meet privately on debt limit

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will meet with President Obama at the White House on Friday to discuss the talks over raising the debt limit, according to a House Democratic aide.

Obama met privately with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) last weekend in an effort to advance the debt-ceiling talks, leaving some Democrats anxious that Obama was prioritizing Republican concerns over those of his own party.

The Pelosi meeting is an indication that the White House strategy is broader, with the president fielding concerns from leaders in both parties – individually and in a group setting.

House Democrats are still agitated for being sidelined during December's talks to extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts. They were also largely excluded from the final negotiations on the 2011 continuing resolution.

Obama met Thursday with bipartisan leaders from both chambers, including Pelosi, at the White House. Friday's individual meeting with Pelosi was set up before the Thursday group meeting was scheduled.

Pelosi was not informed in advance of Obama’s plans to include Social Security reform in the scope of the debt-ceiling talks, a House Democratic aide said earlier Thursday.

Reports that Obama is looking for a big debt deal that would include Social Security reforms provoked anger among liberals in the House and Senate, who said they were irritated to learn of the news from the press.

Pelosi last month demanded that she have a seat at the table in talks on the debt ceiling, and legislation is likely to need significant support from Democrats to move through the House.

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