

The president will hold separate meetings this week with House and Senate Democrats, where he's likely to face more pushback on the Keystone XL pipeline and health care, particularly from lawmakers who will face voters in November.



"All of these folks got elected in the first place by being really strong advocates for their states,'' said Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's longtime adviser. "And sometimes the interests of their individual state may be at odds with the administration, but that's OK. They have a job to do.''






The president's meetings this week with House and Senate Democrats will focus in part on mapping out a legislative strategy for raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10, a proposal the party sees as both a political and policy winner.




One day after Obama used his State of the Union to press lawmakers for a speedy vote on two major trade agreements, Reid swatted down the idea, saying "everyone would be well-advised to not push this right now.''

And on Friday, Democratic senators like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina, both facing tough re-election fights, ratcheted up pressure on the president to approve the Keystone XL pipeline after a State Department review raised no significant environmental objections to the project.



The divisions have become frequent fodder for Republicans, who have sought to expose any cracks in the relationship between the president and his party. That's particularly true on the Keystone XL pipeline, which Republicans support, and on trade, where the GOP finds itself in rare alignment with the president.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took on both issues Monday, saying "The president's own party is now standing in the way of getting anything done.''

White House officials say they're largely concerned with not getting caught off guard when Democratic lawmakers don't align with the president. An official said Obama had spoken with Reid previously about his position on trade and was not surprised by the Senate leader's comments last week.

As he returned to Capitol Hill Monday afternoon, a reporter asked Reid if he was in “the doghouse'' because of his comments on trade. Reid simply said, "No.''