Washington — At a press briefing this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that “everyone agreed” at today’s bipartisan summit that the tax-cut issue must be “finished by the end of the year.”

“The president’s most urgent desire is that tax cuts do not go up on the middle class,” Gibbs said. “There was a sense in the room . . . that there was an imperative to provide certainty by the end of the year.”

Today’s group meeting lasted approximately two hours. The final 35 minutes included just the president, Vice President Biden, and elected leaders — sans staff or administration officials.

Gibbs said the president hopes to hold future summits with party leaders, perhaps at Camp David.