Inside the Very Awkward End to the Debt-Ceiling Wars

Boehner made his announcement, and no one clapped
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2014 12:22 PM CST
Inside the Very Awkward End to the Debt-Ceiling Wars
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2014.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

John Boehner ended the debt ceiling wars yesterday, but his fellow Republicans didn't exactly throw him a parade. The Washington Post today has an excruciatingly awkward account of how Boehner broke the news to his caucus at a private breakfast yesterday morning. "Listen—we're going to move forward," he said, standing before a room of drowsy Republicans. "We're going to get this done." He said he wouldn't even consider floating another proposal—he had made up his mind to go with a clean bill. The Republicans sat up, stunned, and silently stared at him.

No one booed. No one cheered. Boehner stood waiting for any reaction at all, then finally shook his head and walked to his seat. "I'm getting this monkey off your back, and you're not going to even clap?" he said as he went, after which one House veteran says there was "how do I say it, a polite golf clap." Meanwhile, at a private lunch yesterday, Senate Republican leaders were urging their members to drop any filibuster attempts and let a vote take place today, Politico reports. One GOP senator said that most at the lunch were more concerned about "getting the hell out of town" before the coming snowstorm arrived. The response from the right has mostly been muted. The Wall Street Journal today ran an editorial urging Republicans to repeal the debt ceiling entirely and "finally end this periodic self-torture." (More debt ceiling stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X