A photograph of Joe Biden meeting with miserable-looking Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell at the White House sparked online amusement.
The president wore an amused look on his face while House Minority Leader McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader McConnell appeared to wish they were anywhere else.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had a coy smile on his face as outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi looked on seemingly amused by the situation.
The meeting took place in the wake of the GOP’s underwhelming performance in the midterm elections, which saw Democrats retain control of the US Senate.
Mr McCarthy, if he is even able to become House speaker, will have a narrow majority of just seven House seats to work with from January.
Mr Biden met with the lawmakers to discuss his priorities for the rest of the lame-duck session, saying the group “made some good progress.”
Republicans had expected to decisively take control of both the House and the Senate earlier this month, but a “red wave” failed to materialise with voters rejecting a string of election-denying Trump-endorsed candidates.
“I asked the four top leaders in Congress whether they’d be willing to come in and talk about what we’re going to do between now and Christmas in terms of legislation,” Mr Biden said on Tuesday.
“And there is a lot to do, including resolving the train strike ... And Congress I think has to act to prevent it. It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it.”
The pained look on the face of the Republican leaders was quickly mocked by Twitter users.
“Kevin McCarthy looks as if he’s at a visit to the dentist,” wrote one user.
And another user said: “This should be the White House Christmas card.”
“McCarthy didn’t want to look happy around Biden in case Trump saw the picture,” stated another.
