President Barack Obama will host congressional leaders at the White House Sunday for a pivotal debt reduction summit.

The White House released a statement late Saturday saying if Republicans and Democrats fail to meet the fiscal challenge they will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner, had said earlier Saturday that he is abandoning efforts to reach a comprehensive deal with the White House to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.

Boehner said he told President Barack Obama that he wants to pursue a smaller $2-trillion deficit reduction deal since he said the “White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes.”

Republicans have been adamant that they will not support higher taxes. Instead, Boehner said negotiators should focus on deficit reductions identified by a bipartisan group led by Vice President Joe Biden.

Earlier, Mr. Obama said congressional Democrats and Republicans need to step out of their “comfort zones” and make the political sacrifices to meet the nation's fiscal challenges.