"We need things like the debt limit, because it's the only leverage we have to get down to reasonable spending levels," said Senator Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, who attended the White House meeting.
Repeated congressional brinkmanship over the debt has led two of the three largest global ratings agencies to cut the federal government's once top-tier credit rating.
With a 53-47 majority, Senate Republicans need only 51 votes to pass a blueprint and unlock a parliamentary tool known as budget reconciliation to circumvent Democrats' ability to use the Senate filibuster to block Trump's legislative agenda.
"We've still got a lot of things that we've got to reconcile with the House," said Senator Thom Tillis, another Republican who met with Trump last week. "Part of what we were doing is making sure that the president agreed. And it was a good meeting that way."