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Bipartisan leaders emerged from a high-stakes budget meeting Thursday morning with no sign that they're closer to a deal to prevent a government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) met with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in Boehner's office in the Capitol to discuss a path forward after GOP leaders were forced to pull a short-term spending bill for lack of Republican support.
Pelosi called the talks “useful” and “respectful” but declined to provide details.
“Progress is made anytime you come together,” she said. “We talked about the budget and its many manifestations.”House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was not expected to be a part of the meeting, but he told reporters as the gathering ended, “We are still working on it, and our goal is to affect the operations of the government going forward while delaying ObamaCare.”
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Thursday that GOP leaders have not reached out to him about getting the votes to pass legislation to fund the government after Sept. 30, when current funding expires.
Boehner and Cantor have fought to prevent the government from closing, for fear that Republicans would be blamed for the shutdown, as happened during a similar showdown in the mid-1990s.
But conservatives in their conference have insisted that any short-term funding bill be tied to the defunding of President Obama's healthcare reform law. GOP leaders delayed a vote on their continuing resolution, which was scheduled for Thursday, to give them more time to whip the necessary votes.
Pelosi’s office shot out an email to reporters near the end of the meeting accusing Republicans of threatening a government shutdown for political gain.
“The American people want a government that works for them – unfortunately, House Republicans can’t get their act together, even with a government shutdown hanging in the balance,” Pelosi's office said.
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