One hour.

That's how long congressional leadership and the White House devoted to solving an impasse over $85 bil...

Politico Contributor

One hour.

That's how long congressional leadership and the White House devoted to solving an impasse over $85 billion in spending cuts set to take effect on Friday.

And it's clear that next to nothing was accomplished. The meeting began at 10:18 -- just a smidge more than 12 hours before the sequester was scheduled to begin --and ended at 11:10 a.m.

(See also: Full coverage of the sequestration)

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) emerged from the meeting and reiterated that Republicans wouldn't budge on permitting new tax revenues as part of a sequester solution. Instead, they want a replacement solely based on spending cuts.

"But let's make it clear that the president got his tax hikes on January 1," Boehner said outside of the White House. This discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. It's about taking on the spending problem here in Washington."

The House will pass a government funding bill next week, Boehner said, to give more spending flexibility to the Pentagon

"I did lay out that the House is going to move a continuing resolution next week to fund the government past March 27. And I'm hopeful that we won't have to deal with the threat of a government shutdown while we're dealing with the sequester at the same time. The House will act next week and I hope the Senate will follow suit."

Boehner, in the meeting with the White House, reiterated that the Democratic Senate needs to pass a plan to replace the cuts in the sequester. Closing tax loopholes outside of comprehensive tax reform -- Obama's suggested approach -- is off the table.

There were no other immediate details about what happened inside the room -- which contained Obama, House Speaker Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

This fiscal dilemma has played out differently from the previous ones in the sense that the chief players -- Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) -- have not met at all throughout it. There have been virtually no negotiations between the White House and Congress, as both sides have fiercely clung to their starting points --Obama has insisted that a solution include a balance of spending cuts and new revenues, while Boehner has dismissed any tax hikes out of hand.

And with the sequester set to hit at 11:59 pm. on Friday night, not much is expected to happen at the White House meeting Friday morning. Republicans even said as much before the meeting happened.

(Also on POLITICO: When does sequestration start?)

The mood on this gray Friday was encapsulated before the meeting by Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican leader of the Senate.

"There will be no last-minute, back-room deal and absolutely no agreement to increase taxes," McConnell said in a statement, adding that he was "happy" to discuss other options to reduce spending.

That's precisely where the disagreement lies. Boehner and McConnell are opposed to Obama's plan to close what the president describes as tax loopholes to help offset the cuts, which will disproportionally hit the Pentagon and other military spending. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) favor raising more revenue to blunt the cuts.

Lawmakers that oversee the nation's Armed Services are livid.

"I have never in my lifetime seen such a lack of leadership and truth-telling emanating from the White House and from our commander-in-chief," said Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee who has served in Congress since 1993.

(PHOTOS: How sequestration could affect you)

Republicans have been plagued by a muddled message. Deficit hawks say Obama is exaggerating the cuts, while defense hawks say the cuts are far too deep.

"In the Congress, there's 435 people, we can't all be experts in everything," McKeon said, swiping at people who say the cuts won't be damaging. "We have had the opportunity to hear from the chiefs, those who are on the battle line. We've had the opportunity to go to Afghanistan, to go to Iraq, to go to hotspots around the world and see, we have the greater knowledge of how the impact of these cuts will be on our national security."

Both sides have tried to replace the cuts.

The House passed two bills during the 112th Congress to replace the automatic cuts with what they dub smarter, more targeted spending reductions. But those bills were non-starters in the Senate. Even if the Senate and Obama agreed to those bills, they are non-operative in this new session of Congress.

The Senate on Thursday defeated two proposals to reverse the sequester: one Democratic proposal to raise revenue and cut spending, and a GOP bill that canceled the cuts, while giving authority to the president to cut spending more flexibly.

The battle will continue through the month of March. Government funding expires March 27. The House will act next week by passing a measure that funds the government, while giving more spending flexibility to the Pentagon.