◼ Democrats are trying to drive a debt-limit wedge between Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). - The Hill
◼ 'The Key is McConnell': White House Looks to GOP Senate Leader for Help - Jake Tapper/ABC
With debt negotiations locked in what President Obama last night referred to as a “stalemate,” the president is looking to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, for help.
Specifically, the president hopes McConnell will be able to persuade House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to support legislation that will raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit – and that can pass the House and Senate and be signed by the president.
“The key is McConnell,” a senior White House official tells ABC News.
Whether that would mean McConnell is able to “move” Boehner to support the bill being offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., or a version thereof after Boehner’s legislation fails to pass in the Senate, as many assume may happen, will be dictated by circumstances, the official said.
But Senate GOP sources say that the White House should likely look elsewhere.
McConnell worked with the Speaker on the Boehner bill and strongly supports it. The GOP leader believes that at the end of the day the choice will be between Boehner’s legislation and possible default, and the president will be forced to sign Boehner’s legislation, which would force $1.8 trillion in additional cuts in 2012.
Reid’s plan, Republicans say, not only couldn’t pass the House, it can’t sustain a filibuster in the Senate.
◼ 'The Key is McConnell': White House Looks to GOP Senate Leader for Help - Jake Tapper/ABC
With debt negotiations locked in what President Obama last night referred to as a “stalemate,” the president is looking to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, for help.
Specifically, the president hopes McConnell will be able to persuade House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to support legislation that will raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit – and that can pass the House and Senate and be signed by the president.
“The key is McConnell,” a senior White House official tells ABC News.
Whether that would mean McConnell is able to “move” Boehner to support the bill being offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., or a version thereof after Boehner’s legislation fails to pass in the Senate, as many assume may happen, will be dictated by circumstances, the official said.
But Senate GOP sources say that the White House should likely look elsewhere.
McConnell worked with the Speaker on the Boehner bill and strongly supports it. The GOP leader believes that at the end of the day the choice will be between Boehner’s legislation and possible default, and the president will be forced to sign Boehner’s legislation, which would force $1.8 trillion in additional cuts in 2012.
Reid’s plan, Republicans say, not only couldn’t pass the House, it can’t sustain a filibuster in the Senate.
