President-elect Obama will be on Capitol Hill Monday in an effort to work with Congress to improve the economy. Included in his meetings will be Senate and House GOP leaders Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio).

In separate statements released this afternoon, McConnell and Boehner voiced their concerns with passing what could be the largest spending bill in the the country's history without extended committee and floor debate.

"We agree with President-elect Obama that taking action to turn the economy around is job one. We also agree, though, that every dollar needs to be spent wisely and not wasted in the rush to get it spent," McConnell said. "And we hope that Democrats in Congress don't attempt to shut the American taxpayer out of this process by trying to pass a bill that hasn't been the subject of bipartisan review and that hasn't been available for public inspection."

"Let's be clear," said Boehner, "it is essential that this legislation be debated in a fair, open, and honest way. Congress should have public hearings in the appropriate committees, the text of the measure should be made available online for the American people to review for at least one week, and it should be free from special-interest earmarks."

Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is expected to announce tomorrow that Denver Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet is his choice to fill the state's soon-to-be vacant Senate seat. Ritter will officially appoint Bennet after Sen. Ken Salazar gives up the seat and is sworn in as Interior Secretary. The Denver Post reports:

After an array of candidates put their names forward for selection, the choice came down to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper or Bennet, Hickenlooper's former chief of staff. After spending a long holiday weekend in the mountains last week, Ritter began to focus on Bennet. The two men then discussed the choice on New Year's Day and the pick was solidified, according to sources close to the process.

The New York Times notes that Bennet is the brother of James Bennet, current editor of The Atlantic magazine.

Former Virginia Delegate Brian Moran, running for the Democratic nomination in this year's race for governor of Virginia, called on his two opponents to join his pledge to raise money from only in-state donors.

"This election should be about who has a proven record of fighting for Virginia families and a vision for where to take the state," Moran said on a Washington-area radio station this morning. "It should not be an election about who can raise more money from national donors. Virginia Democrats should choose our nominee."

Moran's pledge comes for obvious reasons. Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, who's raised money for both Bill and Hillary Clinton, has a national donor network that the Washington Post reported could help him take in some $80 million to run for governor.

The McAuliffe camp has denied the accuracy of this number, telling Virginia Commonwealth University professor Robert Holsworth that they expect to raise far less than that. Still, Moran and State Sen. Creigh Deeds, who's also running, will likely struggle to keep pace with McAuliffe's stellar fundraising abilities should he not agree to the pledge.

Despite reports of unrest among liberal Democrats regarding certain moves made by President-elect Obama, Gallup's tracking poll finds liberals still overwhelmingly support him. Among liberal Democrats, 93% are confident Obama will be a good president, and 96% have a favorable opinion of him.

Obama currently enjoys decent numbers among Republicans as well. About half (51%) of liberal/moderate Republicans and almost a third (29%) of conservative Republicans are confident Obama will be a good president. Obama's favorable ratings among both groups are even better, with 61% of liberal/moderate Republicans and 37% of conservative Republicans holding a favorable opinion of him.