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Washington President Obama and congressional leaders of both parties broke bread Friday at the White House for a post-election discussion on the issues of the day, including areas of possible compromise and some longstanding areas of disagreement.

The lunch came three days after a sweeping Republican victory in Tuesdays midterm elections, in which the GOP won control of the Senate. In opening remarks, Mr. Obama congratulated the Republicans for running a strong campaign, and then noted the frustrations of Americans over Washingtons inability to solve problems.

I think theyre frustrated by the gridlock, the president said at the table in the Old Family Dining Room. Theyd like to see more cooperation. And I think all of us have the responsibility, me in particular, to try to make that happen.

Topics on the table included jobs, education, Ebola, and the Islamic State.

Then theres immigration the issue that threatens to blow up Obamas relationship with the GOP leadership, even before the new Congress is seated in January. At issue is Obamas pledge to take executive action on immigration before the end of the year, likely granting relief from deportation to several million people in the United States illegally. Critics call such a move executive amnesty.

The White House press office's readout on the lunch contained one line about immigration, separate from the discussion of areas of common ground.

The president reiterated his commitment to taking action on immigration reform in light of the Houses inability to pass a comprehensive bill, the statement said.

The office of House Speaker John Boehner (R), in its own readout of the meeting, also mentioned immigration - in no uncertain terms.

The speaker warned that unilateral action by the president on executive amnesty will erase any chances of doing immigration reform and will also make it harder for Congress and the White House to work together successfully on other areas where there might otherwise be common ground, said the statement from Speaker Boehners office.

Earlier Friday, at a press breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus called Obamas pledge to take executive action on immigration a nuclear threat to reject the basis of the separation of powers doctrine. Later he likened it to throwing a barrel of kerosene on the fire. Mr. Priebus said Republicans would explore options to stop Obamas move, both legal and legislative.

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama isn't giving Republicans time to catch their breath after celebrating an election triumph.

He barnstormed into action following Tuesday's midterm elections, pushing his priorities before Republican leaders can frame their agenda for the new Congress, which convenes in January.

Obama challenged congressional leaders he met over lunch Friday to back his expanding war against ISIS. The President plans to send up to 1,500 more soldiers to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces while asking Congress for another $5.6 billion to fund the war.

On another front for the busy White House, Obama will name Loretta Lynch on Saturday as his pick to succeed Attorney General Eric Holder. She would be the first African American woman to hold the post and her selection will force Republican leaders to consider whether to mount a confirmation battle.

Obama is also pressing lawmakers to approve $6 billion in emergency funding to fight Ebola before they leave Washington for the holidays. And the Presidents will head to Asia this weekend to show his authority on the world stage has not been splintered by the Republican electoral rout.

READ: Obama sends 1,500 troops to Iraq

The president is operating from a playbook weeks in the making by Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, which takes him through the lame duck session of Congress and his penultimate State of the Union address in January.

One of his next moves, aides say, will be to use his executive power to reshape the nation's immigration system before the end of the year, despite Republican claims he will "poison the well" for future cooperation.

But Obama's time to wield the initiative will be brief. Come next year, he will be hit with a blizzard of bills from the new Republican Congress, including efforts to dismember his signature health care law and policies on climate change.

Continued here:
Obama's post-election strategy

The U.S. military will boost its effort to help Iraqi forces confront Islamic State militants in the coming weeks, deploying 1,500 more troops to the country. (Reuters)

President Obama authorized Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday to send up to 1,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, roughly doubling the force the United States has built up since June to fight the Islamic State militants who control much of Iraq and Syria.

The announcement of a major increase in the force in Iraq deepens U.S. involvement in a messy regional conflict that officials are warning may last for years. The White House said it would request $5.6billion for the military campaign against the Islamic State, including $1.6billion to train and equip Iraqi troops.

If funding for the plan is approved, the additional U.S. troops will expand a military advisory mission in Iraq that began in the summer and will establish a new effort to train Iraqi forces, Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagons press secretary, told reporters.

The expansion of the U.S. military footprint in Iraq, nearly three years after Obama ended the last American war there, also underscores the severity of the threat U.S. officials see in the Islamic State, a well-armed extremist group that has drawn strength from the conflict in Syria and has used brutal tactics to expand its realm across Iraq and Syria.

In response to that threat, Obama had established a renewed military force in Iraq of 1,400 troops, significantly increasing a security presence that since the 2011 withdrawal had included only a small security assistance office attached to the U.S. Embassy.

Officials said they hoped that lawmakers would approve the funding for the new troop plan in the coming weeks.

U.S. officials said that, under the new plan, U.S. Central Command would establish two additional hubs for U.S. military advisers, who have been working alongside Iraqi officials since the summer as they oversee Iraqi efforts to expel the Islamic State from the country.

One will be in western Anbar province, which has been partly controlled by Islamic State militants for about a year, and the second will be north of Baghdad.

Central Command would also establish training sites for Iraqi forces in several locations in the northern, western and southern parts of the country, including ethnically mixed Diyala province. Since the return of U.S. troops to Iraq in the summer, they had previously been confined mostly to Baghdad and Irbil in the north.

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