Obama, GOP senators discuss issues over dinner

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over a steak dinner, President Barack Obama dined with a dozen Republican senators at the White House on Wednesday evening in search of common ground on a range of issues, most notably the budget, entitlements and tax reform.

“Our dinner with President Obama tonight was very productive,” Sen. Johnny Isakson, who compiled the invitations, said in a statement. “We discussed the debt, deficits and fiscal challenges facing our country. Sitting down to talk about how to get our arms around our debt is a good first step to what I hope will be an ongoing discussion and a path forward to solving our nation’s problems.”