Boehner Searches for Votes

Robert Costa: “House insiders say Boehner’s fear is that conservative activists and powerful conservative groups start to align against the bill and rattle its fragile coalition. If that happens, and the bill’s support falls apart, a simple, six-week debt-ceiling extension is still in the leadership’s back pocket, but there’s no plan to bring that up anytime soon. More likely, should things fizzle on the whip front, is that another conference meeting is called and the House GOP ‘gets real,’ as one Boehner ally puts it, about ‘what’s possible within divided government, and whether Republicans are willing to back anything at all.'”

“Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have slowed down their talks with Democrats as they wait to see if Boehner can pass his plan. Privately, they’re worried that if Boehner struggles to find support for his amped-up version of the emerging Senate deal, it’ll give even more leverage to Senate majority leader Harry Reid.”

Said one Senate GOP aide: “If the House can’t get its act together, we’re going to get nothing, other than preserving sequestration. They’re playing games, and we’re over here, just trying to survive.”