Three days before the U.S. hits the debt ceiling, Republicans are scrambling to save face -- and coming up with few good options.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is trailed by reporters as he walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 12, 2013. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Republicans went for the jugular on Obamacare, letting the government shut down rather than budge. But relentless efforts to undermine the president’s health care act and extract fiscal concessions from Democrats in budget talks have succeeded only in tanking the GOP’s popularity.
Now, three days before the U.S. hits the debt ceiling, Republicans are scrambling to save face — and coming up with few good options.
On Monday, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet with leaders of both the House and Senate, according to a White House official. The president will likely reiterate that he will not negotiate on reopening the government and raising the debt limit.
All eyes are on the Senate, where talks are still ongoing. As negotiations enter the final hour, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are leading efforts to find a way out of the impasse.
The two men spoke by phone on Sunday. Reid said the conversation was “productive” and “substantive,” and expressed optimism about a positive conclusion.
Negotiations now hinge on two key points: The length of the debt ceiling increase, and government funding levels.
On Sunday, Sen. Bob Corker lamented the GOP’s “overreach” by focusing on defunding Obamacare, and urged the Senate to, at the very least, pass a short term bill that would avoid a default.
Senate Democrats rejected a GOP plan proposed by Maine Republican Susan Collins Saturday afternoon that they said kept spending levels far too low.
Collins’ proposal would have raised the debt ceiling until January 2014 and would have funded the government at sequester levels for six months.
Reid said he appreciated Collins’ efforts to find a consensus, but said the proposal was dead in the water at this time. “The plan that I’ve seen in writing is not going to go any place at this stage,” he said.
McConnell released a statement Sunday urging Democrats to agree to the plan. “It’s time for Democrat leaders to take ‘yes’ for an answer,” it read in part.
On Meet the Press Sunday, Sen. Dick Durbin made it clear that Democrats are willing to discuss cuts to major programs like Social Security and Medicare — once the debt ceiling crisis has been averted. “Put everything on the table,” Durbin said.