Senate Leaders Scramble for Deal on Standoff

Efforts to reopen the government and avert a default on the nation's debt rested in the hands of the Senate's top leaders after talks between House Republicans and the White House broke down Saturday.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sat down to negotiate for the first time since the 12-day-old government shutdown began, but there were no indications they had made significant progress. Still, Senate leaders made plans for a rare Sunday session in case they reach a deal, while the House adjourned for the weekend after a brief and at times chaotic session.

Early in the day, Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) told House Republicans that President Obama had rejected their efforts to enter into more substantive negotiations, according to lawmakers who attended the closed-door session. Obama has insisted he would negotiate over the federal budget with the Republicans only after they first reopened the government and lifted the debt ceiling.

Boehner said it was now up to Senate Republicans to hold firm and extract concessions on the president's healthcare law and federal spending. But Senate Republicans expressed frustration with the apparent indifference of their House counterparts to the political toll that their party has suffered from the shutdown and the threat of a potentially catastrophic default on the nation's debt.

Since McConnell cut a deal last December with Vice President Joe Biden to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, he has largely stayed out of budget talks. With a potentially tough reelection battle that includes a challenge from his right, McConnell has emphasized conservative priorities, such as opposing measures on gun control and immigration reform.

His move to reenter the fray could reflect McConnell's calculation that his ultimate political goal — to lead a Senate with a Republican majority — was imperiled by the hard-line position of Republicans in the House.

House Republicans have seen their leverage erode as Boehner has repeatedly failed to find a plan that could win a majority of his caucus and also be close to one the White House would discuss.

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