President Barack Obama and Senator Mitch McConnell sat down in the Oval Office. Bourbon not involved.
The two planned the get-together at the White House to size up prospects for cooperation between Democrats and Republicans, who have shown little zest for deal-making since Obama took office over six years ago.
Wednesday's Oval Office discussion was the first one-on-one meeting between Obama and the Kentucky Republican since the GOP took control of the Senate in November's midterm elections. McConnell, who famously said after Obama's inauguration that his goal was to make him a one-term president, is poised to become Senate majority leader when the new Congress convenes next month.
Obama and McConnell have both spoken about their interest in cooperating on areas like tax reform and infrastructure investments, although working through the details will likely expose long-standing differences.