Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that it won’t be easy to pass the three-week continuing resolution, but he predicted that ultimately the measure would pass.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Republicans had failed to show they are willing to compromise or offer any ideas for reaching a long-term solution. “If no budget passes and we cannot keep this country running, it will be clear which side will bear that burden,” the Nevada Democrat said.
And Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) blamed the far right for blocking a longer-term deal and urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to abandon the tea party. “In order to avert a shutdown, Speaker Boehner should consider leaving the tea party behind and instead seek a consensus in the House among moderate Republicans and a group of Democrats,” he said.
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel responded by accusing Schumer of “cynically scheming for a government shutdown because he thinks it will help his political party.”
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Rep. Joseph Crowley, vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, address a news conference immediately after the closed caucus meeting.
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