Immigration reform proponents say they’d prefer a vote to a video
John Boehner
Why John Boehner Wants Another Grand Bargain (And Why He Probably Won’t Get One)
During House Speaker John Boehner’s first stint in the leadership in the mid 1990s, just about the only adornment on the walls of his tiny Capitol Hill office was a portrait of Nicholas Longworth, the last Speaker from Ohio. …
Amid Supercommittee Wrangling, Tax Reform Gains Momentum
Whether or not Congress’s deficit supercommittee succeeds in finding $1.2 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving, one likely result is that sometime in the next 18 months, Congress will tackle tax reform.
Why John Boehner Needs to Reassure Wall Street
House Speaker John Boehner will address the Economic Club of New York City on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Monday night. Though Boehner has long been an avowed friend of business – he received a 94% Chamber of Commerce rating …
Five Things Obama’s Learned about Boehner
On the night that Republicans won control of the House, the White House Press Office came to a startling realization: They had no contact information for Speaker-to-be John Boehner. In President Obama’s first two years in office, he’d reached out to House Republicans so little that they had no reason to get to know – or even get …
Maybe It Really Is About Abortion…
The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List and Rep. Jim Jordan, head of the Republican Study Committee, just held a conference call in which Jordan said the fight is all about abortion. “The country’s broke. The vast majority of Americans, whether they’re pro-life or not, don’t want their tax dollars being spent to take the life of …
Mixed Messages on a Possible Budget Deal
Someone is lying. Or spinning us mercilessly, if you prefer to be charitable. A little after 2 PM, Harry Reid stepped in front of a slate of cameras to accuse House Republicans of “wanting to shut down the federal government over women’s access to health care.” If that sounds ridiculous, Reid added, “it is ridiculous.”
Not true, says …
Is This Really All About Abortion?
This morning Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the networks together and gave them an update on the negotiations (as I type this Reid is starting another press conference in the Senate). He said the issues have narrowed to one: abortion. Reid said House Speaker John Boehner is pushing a rider that would make Title X into block …
Boehner’s Choice
John Boehner has a decision to make. And in some ways it’s akin to choosing between his children. By midnight tonight the government will shut down unless an agreement can be reached between the Speaker and President Obama. Whatever Boehner decides will have long-reaching implications for his Speakership.
Ideally, Boehner would have …
With Time Running Out, Still No Budget Deal
Updated, 9:55 PM
As negotiations over the federal budget crawl toward a conclusion, the process has taken on something of a surreal flavor. Members of Congress busy themselves by putting out statements assigning blame for an …
Riders on the (Shutdown) Storm
The budget debate is far from over, but the good news is that they’re still talking: Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner are heading back to the White House at 1 p.m. on Thursday. But the morning’s gloomy prognostications don’t bode well for the chances of averting a government shutdown.
If you listen to …
Pick Your Own Ending: Shutdown Version
President Obama and Speaker Boehner talked this morning by phone – always a good sign that the lines of communications remain open. Though, the fact that the discussion lasted all of three minutes is a tad troubling. As the government lurches towards a possible shutdown, I thought it would be useful to outline the choices facing the …
Are We Heading for a Government Shutdown?
The odds of a government shutdown were raised significantly this morning after House GOP leaders and President Obama failed to reach an agreement to continue funding the government.
“While there was a good discussion, no agreement was reached,” Speaker John Boehner’s staff wrote in an e-mail to reporters following the White …