Fitch Ratings put the U.S. government’s “AAA” credit rating on “rating watch negative” saying that the standstill on the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations risks undermining the effectiveness of the country’s government and political institutions, CNBC reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Fitch isn’t commenting beyond its statement, but this could suggest a
downgrade is possible even if Congress manages to avert an actual
default.”

“The day after a group of rebellious House Republicans met with Sen. Ted Cruz in the basement of a Capitol Hill restaurant, lawmakers were cagey about what exactly they discussed,” Roll Call reports.

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.”

“If our party can’t pass this, then there’s no doubt we’re going to end up with what the Senate sends us.”

— Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), quoted by the New York Times, on a bill extending the nation’s debt limit.

Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) told TPM that “part of the House Republican calculus in its plan to re-open the government and raise the debt limit was trying to leverage the Thursday default deadline to their advantage in their back-and-forth with the Senate.”

Said Fleming: “We want to make a deal that they can’t refuse, and we’re running out of time. Timing is very important here. They’re going to be more motivated to take this up. Otherwise, they miss the Thursday deadline.”

Wonk Wire highlights that while lawmakers may manage to avoid breaching the debt ceiling, “by Treasury’s own definition, it’s reasonable to say that we have already defaulted.”

A new Pew Research survey finds Americans feel Republicans are more to blame for the deadlock over the government shutdown and debt limit by 46% to 37%.

A week ago, when the question asked just about responsibility for the government shutdown, the public said Republicans were more to blame, by 38% to 30%.

New York Times: “House Republican leaders struggled late Tuesday morning to craft a new proposal to reopen the government and change the president’s health care law, after a plan presented behind closed doors to the Republican rank-and-file failed to attract enough support immediately to pass.”

The Washington Post quotes Boehner: “There have been no decisions about what exactly we will do.”

Wall Street Journal: “House GOP leaders were wavering about whether to bring the legislation
to the floor for fear it might not have the support to pass, a lawmaker
and a handful of aides familiar with the deliberations said.”

House GOP leaders outlined a new plan “to reopen the government and avoid a default on the debt, in an apparent attempt to prevent the Senate from jamming them with a deal they don’t support,” Roll Call reports.

“The proposed measure, outlined at a morning GOP conference meeting, would fund the government until Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. However, it would prevent the Treasury from using “extraordinary measures” to delay any default after that Feb. 7 date. The measure would also eliminate health care benefits for lawmakers and cabinet officials, require income verification for Obamacare subsidies, suspend the Obamacare medical device tax for two years.”

First Read: “Here’s the good news if you’re rooting for an end to the government shutdown and for the debt ceiling to be raised before the Treasury Department’s Oct. 17 deadline: Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans are on the verge of a deal. But here’s the bad news: No one — right now — is certain it will get through the GOP-controlled House.”

“One thing that COULD help him is if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell delivers 25 GOP votes in the Senate (so more than half of his conference). Remember, during the New Year’s fiscal-cliff deal, 40 Republicans voted for that compromise, though five of them are no longer in the Senate. The more Republicans who vote for the deal, the more cover Boehner has.”

USA Today:
“It is unclear whether Boehner can support the proposal, or if he will
allow a vote on it if a majority of House Republicans oppose it.”