Obama Meeting With Newly Elected Rep. Owens, Caucus Pushed To Saturday

Bill Owens will have been a member of Congress less than five hours when he is treated to a private sit-down with President Obama.

The White House said Obama is scheduled to meet with Owens in the Oval Office Friday at 4:25 p.m. after the president returns from a visit to Walter Reed.

Owens (D-NY) was elected Tuesday night after defeating Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Speaker Nancy Pelosi will host the swearing-in ceremony around noon Friday.

He was a bright spot in a lousy night for the party in the elections in the Northeast, and the first Democrat to hold the seat since the Civil War.

TPMDC reported earlier that Obama is meeting with House Democrats during a caucus meeting before they vote on health care. That was scheduled for Friday but the White House just announced the meeting will be Saturday instead.

Late update: Vice President Biden on Friday will speak via phone to "members of the House of Representatives about the need to pass health insurance reform." In announcing Biden's schedule, the White House didn't specify if he was speaking to Democrats and Republicans or just one party. TPMDC will update when we find out.