WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama heads to Capitol Hill next week for a rare event--a lunch with the Senate Republicans. This comes as Congress is mired in gridlock over the sequester--the automatic forced budget cuts--and a battle looming at the end of the month over money to keep the federal government funded.

Obama asked for the meeting through Chief of Staff Denis McDonough on Tuesday, said a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"Senate Republicans welcome the President to the Capitol. And I appreciate he took my recommendation to hear from all of my members," Sen. McConnell said. "We promised the American people that we would cut Washington spending, and the President signed those cuts into law. We have numerous challenges facing the country and Republicans have offered the President serious solutions to shrink Washington spending and grow the economy. And we will have an opportunity to discuss them with the President at the lunch," McConnell said in a statement

Obama last attended a Senate GOP lunch on May 25, 2010.