Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he’ll meet with his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell to discuss whether they can speed things up in the Senate and move on a budget agreement and a defense policy bill more quickly.

Reid said on the Senate floor Friday morning that the Senate has received the bipartisan budget agreement that the House easily approved on Thursday night and says the Senate will soon receive a defense policy bill from the House. He says both bills are priorities for the Senate.

But Reid says absent consent from Republicans those bills will have to wait until after a series of confirmation votes on presidential nominees, including Jeh (jay) Johnson to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Those votes are currently scheduled to run into Saturday night.

(AP)