Bourbon buddies they are not . But there are all the makings of a spirited conversation for President Barack Obama and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Kentucky , when this Washington odd couple meets at the White House on Wednesday afternoon . A new Republican proposal to fund the government thought what has been dubbed the `` cromnibus , '' which would pay for nearly all federal programs with an `` omnibus '' spending bill but only offer a short-term `` continuing resolution '' or `` CR '' for immigration related spending is expected to be on the agenda . A presidential green-light to the `` cromnibus , '' a term that can only exist inside the Beltway , could help ease tensions with GOP lawmakers who are still furious over Obama 's executive action on immigration . White House officials have so far not threatened to veto Boehner 's plan . The President 's request for $ 6 billion in emergency funding to battle Ebola in West Africa and a new authorization for the use of military force in the war against ISIS are likely topics at the meeting as well . McConnell laid out a nuts and bolts legislative wish-list for December 's lame duck session in Congress to reporters Tuesday . `` I think everyone agrees on a bipartisan basis those are the three things we must do here at the end of the session -- fund the government , make sure we do n't have any retroactive tax increases and follow the tradition of many years which is to pass a National Defense Authorization Act , '' McConnell said . `` I 'm confident the Senate will do that before we depart for the holidays , '' he added . But in a sign of the frostiness of the Kentucky Republican 's relationship with the president , McConnell referred to Obama 's immigration plan as `` lawless '' and a `` poison pill . '' Obama himself brought up the immigration action at a meeting with the Business Roundtable hours before he will sit down with McConnell . `` I 'm still hopeful that we can get legislation done , '' he said , saying that would `` supplant '' his executive actions . While Obama and McConnell rarely ever sit down together privately , the two leaders have held such meetings a few more times than what has been previously acknowledged by aides to both men . Same goes for the President and House Speaker John Boehner , R-Ohio . The reason , top White House officials have said , is that knowledge of their conversations could jeopardize relations between the Republican leaders and their more conservative members . Yet it is also well-known the two men sometimes fail to connect . The President called but could not reach McConnell on election night last month , just hours after he beat Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes to win reelection in Kentucky and all but secure his place as the next Senate Majority Leader . RELATED : Obama reaches out , leaves message for McConnell . The scheduled 2:40 p.m. start time for Wednesday 's meeting is a bit early to share that `` Kentucky bourbon '' with McConnell , as Obama offered at his post midterms news conference last month . But given that McConnell once vowed to make Obama a one-term president , perhaps the best both men can expect is a healthy pour of Washington reality .
The President and incoming senate leader Mitch McConnell will meet Wednesday . Atop the agenda is the Republican 'Cromnibus ' plan to keep the government running . Comment: Other topics for the afternoon meeting : Money to fight Ebola and defense spending .