A White House official says President Barack Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House today for a meeting on the government shutdown.
The official says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been invited to the meeting. The official says Obama will urge the House to pass a spending bill to allow the government to reopen.
The government shut down when Congress failed to pass a spending bill ahead of a midnight deadline.
The official insisted on anonymity because the person was not authorised to publicly discuss the meeting before it was announced.
