Hillary Clinton, Obama lunch at the White House
Updated at 5 p.m. ET
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined President Obama at the White House Monday for a private lunch.
The White House has yet to give any details of what the two discussed, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday, "It's largely friendship that's on the agenda for lunch today."
The president, Earnest said, developed not only a strong working relationship with Clinton but a genuine friendship with her while she served in his administration, and Monday's lunch offered them "a chance to catch up."
Any number of subjects could have come up between the rivals-turned-allies. The lunch meeting comes on the same day Israelis and Palestinians are holding preliminary talks in Washington to potentially resume formal negotiations after five years of stalemate. Clinton's successor, Secretary of State John Kerry, has shepherded the talks so far.
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The two may have talked about the Supreme Court's ruling on the Voting Rights Act, which both Clinton and the administration have decried. Later in the day, Mr. Obama is meeting with civil rights leaders at the White House to discuss the future of the Voting Rights Act.
Of course, politics could be on the agenda -- Clinton has kept a relatively high profile since leaving the Obama administration, doing nothing to tamp down speculation she could run for president in 2016. The former secretary of state has given a number of speeches in recent months and is the subject of a forthcoming NBC miniseries. Some key members of Mr. Obama's campaign teams, meanwhile -- including the Obama 2012 national field director Jeremy Bird -- are now aligned with the "Ready for Hillary" super PAC, an entity already gearing up for Clinton's possible campaign.
Still, it's just as likely 2016 didn't come up -- Vice President Joe Biden, after all, could be Clinton's biggest Democratic rival. Clinton plans to have breakfast with Biden on Tuesday at the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence.
While the White House has not said what Clinton and Mr. Obama talked about, Earnest did say the two dined on grilled chicken, pasta jambalaya and salad.
