Obama Again Tells Boehner He Won't Negotiate

This morning's installment of shutdown politics had a familiar ring to it: John Boehner insisted that the White House negotiate on both the shutdown and the debt ceiling, and President Obama insisted he would do no such thing, reports NBC News. In fact, Obama called the speaker personally after Boehner issued his latest plea at a news conference. Obama "repeated what he told him when they met at the White House last week: the president is willing to negotiate with Republicans—after the threat of government shutdown and default have been removed," says the White House.

Boehner, at his earlier press conference, kept up the pressure: “Listen, there’s never been a president in our history that did not negotiate over the debt limit,” he said. “Never. Not once. As a matter of fact, President Obama negotiated with me over the debt limit in 2011." Boehner did not spell out what he's looking for in such negotiations, notes the Washington Post. A short-term increase in the debt ceiling, perhaps? "I'm not drawing any lines in the sand," he said. Obama, meanwhile, plans a news conference for 2pm Eastern, notes Politico. (More government shutdown stories.)