Boehner: Cantor and I are "in this fight together"
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has taken the brunt of Democratic criticism aimed at the GOP for the stalled negotiations over a plan to reduce the deficit and raise the debt ceiling, but House Speaker John Boehner today defended his fellow House Republican leader.
"We have been in this fight together," Boehner said at a press conference today. To say that "the role he has played in these meetings has been anything less than helpful is just wrong."
Earlier today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Cantor's behavior in negotiations with President Obama had been "childish," while Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that if Congress failed to raise the debt ceiling and the U.S. defaulted on its loans, it'd be Cantor's fault.
While Democrats have excoriated Cantor for holding the conservative line in the debate over raising the debt limit, they have mildly complemented Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for their roles in the negotiations.
However, Cantor said today that he and Boehner are on the same page. "We're not going to raise the debt ceiling if we don't have cuts in excess of that amount," he said, and "we don't want to raise taxes."
Cantor said he has tried to add a "dose of pragmatism" to the talks, by trying to craft a plan to "match up with the principles the speaker has laid out and to garner the necessary support so we can get past August 2."
The president's economic team has warned that the nation could default on its loans or face other "catastrophic" consequences if the debt ceiling isn't raised by Aug. 2.
McConnell this week unveiled a "back up" plan to raise the debt limit, which would let the president raise the debt ceiling without any Republican support. It would require the president to suggest spending cuts, but it would not require Congress to actually pass the cuts.
Cantor on Wednesday implicitly implied he didn't support the McConnell plan by releasing a statement saying there were no proposals that would pass in the House. Today, however, Boehner said the McConnell plan "might look pretty good" if Congress still hadn't reached a deal with Mr. Obama within a week or two.
"I think it's worth keeping on the table," Boehner said, even though it may look "less than optimal" at the moment.
