Charlie Neibergall/AP

Obama, Romney to meet Thursday at the White House

President has said he's interested in his former opponent's ideas on government reform.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will have a private lunch with President Obama at the White House on Thursday, Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Wednesday.

Obama had previously said he wanted to meet with his former opponent, saying Romney could offer ideas to boost the economy and reform government.

“There are a lot of ideas that I don't think are partisan ideas but are just smart ideas about how can we make the federal government more customer-friendly,” Obama said of Romney at an earlier press conference.

The meeting will take place at the Private Dining Room in the White House.