Still Waiting On Official Word (Update 2) [View All]

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TPM: Still Waiting On Official Word

(updated to add last paragraph)

The GOP conference meeting is breaking up. Some of the most conservative Republicans, like Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Steve King (R-IA), have hurried away without talking to reporters, TPM's Brian Beutler reports from the Hill. But various reports suggest Speaker Boehner used the meeting to sell his members on a stopgap measure that avoids a shutdown and a long-term deal that will be voted on next week.

A senior Democratic aide tells TPM that the stopgap includes $2 billion in cuts (other reports have pegged it at $3 billion) and the long-term deal includes $38-$39 billion in cuts. That puts the spending cuts very near what Boehner had been seeking all along.

Part of the deal includes a floor vote in the Senate to defund Planned Parenthood, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) tells reporters. That's presumably a symbolic vote that will fail but is in return for Republicans giving up a similar provision in the budget resolution.

Good grief!

Have they lost their minds?


Update 2:

Late Update: The first "official" word of a deal comes in a tweet from Harry Reid's spokesman Jon Summers: "We have an agreement. Details/statement coming soon."