The last few days have seen the focus of the shutdown/debt ceiling talks shift toward the Senate, and this morning's developments make that shift complete: John Boehner told his troops that House Republican negotiations with the White House are finished because the two sides couldn't strike a deal, reports the Washington Post. That means the new point person becomes Maine's centrist Republican senator, Susan Collins. She's been floating a deal that would raise the debt ceiling through January and fund the government for six months, reports the Hill. Among the concessions from the White House would be a delay in a tax on medical devices used to fund ObamaCare, reports Politico. The default deadline is Thursday.
Some of the day's quotes, including some angry-sounding House Republicans via AP:
- Harry Reid: “I was happy to see the Republicans engaged in talks with the president, the House Republicans. That’s over with. It’s done. They’re not talking anymore. I say to my friends on the Republican side of this Senate, time is running out.”
- Rep. Paul Ryan: “They are trying to jam us with the Senate, and we are not going to roll over and take that."
- Rep. Raul Labrador: “It’s now up to the Senate Republicans to stand up."
- Rep. John Fleming: "Perhaps he sees this as the best opportunity for him to win the House in 2014," he said of Obama. "It's very clear to us he does not now, and never had, any intentions of negotiating."
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