President Obama told Congressional leaders to reach a final agreement on a path to raise the debt limit in the next 24-36 hours or…he’ll call another meeting at the White House.
A Republican aide described today’s nearly two hour gathering as “composed and polite” — probably because, according to a Democratic aide, unlike on Wednesday evening Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) didn’t pipe up once.
Democrats and Republicans will now brief their caucuses on potential spending cuts and figure out whether the cuts they’ve identified are workable, or whether they have to resort to Mitch McConnell’s Plan Z. According to a Democratic official familiar with the talks, while the president “appreciates Senators Reid and McConnell trying to solve the immediate problem,” in his eyes it “remains a fallback option.” We’ll find out more when President Obama briefs the media about progress tomorrow.