The Hill News

President Obama met with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and her husband at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday, according to a White House official.

The meeting lasted about 10 minutes and came while both Giffords and Obama and his family were at Cape Canaveral for the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, according to the White House.

The shuttle launch was postponed after Obama and Giffords had arrived because of a mechanical failure.

In January, Giffords was the target of a shooting rampage by a lone gunman that killed six people. Giffords suffered a gunshot wound to the head. She has been undergoing intensive rehabilitation.

At the meeting, Giffords's husband, astronaut and Navy Capt. Mark Kelly updated Obama on Giffords's condition and her progress in recovering from the shooting.

"I bet you were hoping to see a rocket launch today," Kelly said to Obama.

“We were hoping to see you," Obama replied.
The meeting is the first one since Obama visited Giffords in the hospital in mid-January not long after the shooting.