Deal or no deal? GOP back to drawing board on debt plan after Obama meeting
Republican lawmakers scrambled back to the drawing board to modify their plan for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling, after President Obama apparently pushed back on the proposal during a high-stakes White House meeting.
Discussions between the two sides continued into the night Thursday after the meeting broke up with no deal announced, despite optimism earlier in the day that the two sides might agree. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid also cast doubt on House Speaker John Boehner's plan.
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and others have endorsed a proposal that would fund the government for six months and repeal ObamaCare's medical device tax and give federal agencies greater flexibility to manage across-the-board spending cuts caused by sequestration.
The sticking point appears to be whether to end the partial government shutdown as part of any deal to lift the debt ceiling.
The original House GOP plan called for a six-week extension of the debt ceiling with no strings attached -- but would not resolve the partial government shutdown. Instead, Republicans wanted Obama and Democrats to make a "real commitment" to negotiate over the partial government shutdown and a longer-term debt-ceiling hike as the next step.
Fox News is told that Obama pushed back on that plan. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said Obama wants to make sure the partial government shutdown is also lifted as part of any debt-ceiling agreement.
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The White House, though, gave muddy and conflicting statements throughout the day.
Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama could support Boehner's plan as is. He said that if a "clean" bill to hike the debt ceiling for six weeks hits Obama's desk, "He would sign that."
Carney said Obama would strongly prefer that Congress approve a longer-term increase in the debt ceiling and approve a spending bill right away. But pressed repeatedly by reporters, Carney appeared to open the door to a short-term increase in the debt limit even if the partial government shutdown is not addressed.
The subsequent statements by Reid and the White House appeared to walk that back. However, Reid also said the Senate would look at and consider anything the House sends over -- leaving open the possibility that a short-term debt ceiling hike could be considered if it's the only option.
