WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama is discussing challenges from the partial government shutdown with governors and business leaders.
The White House says Obama had a conference call on Friday afternoon with 25 governors and another with nearly 150 business leaders as the shutdown was in its 11th day. Obama also met at the White House with nine small business owners and heard about challenges they are facing in running their operations in the midst of the shutdown.
The White House says Obama spoke with the bipartisan group of state leaders about the shutdown's impact on state budgets.
And the White House says in both calls and the meeting, the president reiterated that he's prepared to negotiate on the economy but that it shouldn't be under the threat of a fiscal crisis.
