President Obama told a group of mayors at the White House on Thursday that he's relying on them to help advance his agenda when Congress won't act.

"I want to work with Congress whenever and wherever I can. But the one thing I'm emphasizing to all my Cabinet members is we're not going to wait," Obama told a group of 250 mayors at the White House. "Where Congress is debating things and hasn't been able to pull the trigger on stuff, my administration's going to move forward, and we're going to … do it in partnership with all of you."

"Every day mayors are proving that you don't have to wait for the gridlock to clear in Congress in order to make things happen," he said.

Vice President Joe Biden said mayors are "the one group of elected officials that get things done in large part because you have no option but to get things done."

The mayors were in Washington, D.C., for the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. They also attended meetings at the White House with administration officials on Thursday.

There was a lighthearted moment at the start of the event, when the vice president, introducing the president, reminded the mayors who exactly he works for.

"Welcome to the White House. My name is Joe Biden. I work for President Obama," Biden said to applause. "Best job I ever had."