Boehner Postpones House Vote

(Newser) – Let the endgame begin: House Republicans say a vote on John Boehner's debt plan will still take place tonight, but the House speaker is apparently having trouble rounding up the necessary votes. Boehner predicted victory earlier today, but he halted debate on the measure about 5pm, reports Politico. Assuming he eventually gets to 217, Harry Reid continues to insist the Boehner plan will die a quick death in the Senate, after which Reid would try to force a vote on his own plan. (Eric Cantor is already threatening Reid with being responsible for a default, notes the Hill.)

All of which suggests some last-minute scrambling will be going on through the weekend. "The smart money in Washington continues to be on some hybrid of the Boehner/Reid/McConnell plans," writes Ezra Klein in the Washington Post. "We’re looking at deal with no new revenue, significant new spending cuts, a spending-cut based enforcement mechanism for further deficit reduction, a series of debt-ceiling votes designed to embarrass Democrats, and a vote on a balanced budget amendment that’s also designed to embarrass Democrats."