The White House is seeking to keep delicate immigration negotiations on track, as a key Republican senator distances himself further from a draft bill President Barack Obama's aides are readying in case congressional talks crumble.
The White House says President Barack Obama opposes raising the eligibility age for Medicare, an idea he once was willing to consider in budget negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner.
The White House says it doesn't have any indication that last week's deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was premeditated. But White House spokesman Jay Carney says the matter still is under investigation and that assessment could change.
The consequences could be severe, according to the Congressional Budget Office, if Congress can't find a way to keep tax cuts from expiring and to keep automatic spending cuts from taking effect in January.
The White House is vowing to veto a House spending bill for the Justice Department, NASA and several other agencies, charging its GOP authors with violating last summer's budget agreement and cutting programs like legal aid to the poor too deeply.