Rubio: I Cannot Support Hagel's Confirmation

SEN. MARCO RUBIO ON FOX'S 'HAPPENING NOW: Well, let me begin by saying that Chuck Hagel’s service to our country, particularly in Vietnam is something all of us admire and I don’t think you will find any debate about that but he is being nominated for one of the most important cabinet positions in our country, the secretary of defense. And I’ve stated long ago I’ve been deeply disturbed by his previous comments and positions in regards to sanctions on Iran and in regards to direct negotiations with North Korea. Obviously, statements he’s made about Israel. These are not the kind of statements and kind of positions I want to see our secretary of defense have and these are big, big problems. And so, for those reasons I just don’t believe I will be able to support his nomination especially after his testimony in the last hour here, he’s really not said anything that addresses those concerns to my satisfaction.

Dominican Prostitute: Senator Bob Menendez (D) ‘Likes the Youngest and Newest Girls’

   CREW -- Spanish email from Menendez accuser by  

nation

In a little-noticed email published online Wednesday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a young Dominican woman wrote nine months ago that she slept with 59-year-old New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez at a series of sex parties organized by Dr. Salomon Melgen, a longtime Menendez campaign donor.

“That Senator also likes the youngest and newest girls,” the woman wrote on April 21, 2002, according to an English translation provided to The Daily Caller by a native Spanish speaker.

“In the beginning he seemed so serious, because he never spoke to anyone, but he is just like the others and has just about the same tastes as the doctor, very refined. I think they were taking us more often to get us checked [medically] because of him.”

Read the full story at the daily caller >>

Menendez Admits Flying to Dominican Republic on Donor's Private Plane

breitbart
Matthew Boyle

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has denied soliciting prostitutes in the Dominican Republic but admitted he traveled at least three times on a donor’s private plane to and from the country. 

The statement comes on the heels of an FBI raid on wealthy ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen’s Miami office late Tuesday evening and internal FBI emails showing the bureau is investigating the Senator’s alleged solicitation of allegedly underage prostitutes in the Dominican.

“Dr. Melgen has been a friend and political supporter of Senator Menendez for many years,” Menendez’s office said in a Wednesday statement, according to the Washington Post. “Senator Menendez has traveled on Dr. Melgen’s plane on three occasions, all of which have been paid for and reported appropriately. Any allegations of engaging with prostitutes are manufactured by a politically-motivated right-wing blog and are false.”

When the story first broke, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) executive director Rob Jesmer called on Menendez to release all his travel records. He has not done that, and his spokeswoman Tricia Enright did not immediately respond to a Breitbart News request for the travel records. 

Jesmer said the allegations against Menendez are “very serious and deserve examination.”

“Fortunately, there is a simple way for Senator Menendez to begin addressing these questions, and that is by releasing his schedule and travel records related to Easter Week of this year, as well as the other dates in question,” Jesmer said.

This reporter broke the story while writing for The Daily Caller last year and interviewed two Dominican Republic women in November who claimed Menendez paid them for sex around Easter-time last year. The encounter apparently took place at Casa de Campo, a posh 7,000-acre resort in the Dominican Republic. Each woman told this reporter that Menendez had agreed to pay them $500 for sex but only paid them $100.

Senator Menendez Unveils Bipartisan Guidelines for Immigration Reform (Spanish)

SenatorMenendezNJ

Top Senate Dems Urge Obama to Take Unilateral Action on Debt Ceiling

foxnews

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

WASHINGTON –  If President Obama were to break the impasse with Republicans over raising the debt limit by taking unilateral action, such a move would have the potential to set off a firestorm of controversy and spark a protracted legal battle.
Top Senate Democrats say, go for it.
The White House has dismissed talk that Obama would rely on unusual measures to raise the nation's debt limit without Congress' approval, but administration officials also have warned that the country could default on its debt and trigger a new economic crisis if lawmakers don't increase the limit on borrowing.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is among those urging Obama to consider options like invoking the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to find ways around the $16.4 trillion legal cap on government borrowing. The amendment states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned," which some lawmakers believe permits a way out of the debt limit jam.
The government hit the debt limit last month and is juggling the books to buy additional time for Congress to act. But those moves only buy a few weeks of wiggle room, which requires Congress to act -- likely by mid- to late-February -- to avoid a market-quaking default on U.S. obligations.
The White House has said emphatically that it does not believe that the 14th Amendment permits Obama to ignore the debt cap on U.S. borrowing, though it considered the question during the 2011 debt crisis.
"There is no Plan B. There is no backup plan," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday. "There is no alternative to Congress raising the debt ceiling."
A letter to Obama on Friday from Reid and Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., doesn't mention the 14th Amendment, but aides to the senators said that's what they have in mind in urging the president to consider unilateral action.
"We believe you must be willing to take any lawful steps to ensure that America does not break its promises and trigger a global economic crisis -- without congressional approval, if necessary," the letter said.
Battling House and Senate leaders have made virtually no progress on a strategy for legislation to lift the debt cap. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, insists that any debt increase be matched by equivalent spending cuts. Obama, buoyed by his re-election victory, says he won't negotiate as he did in 2011, when he traded a $2.1 trillion debt increase for tight spending limits on agency budgets and automatic, across-the-board spending cuts if a congressional "supercommittee" failed to reach a budget agreement.
"Senate Democrats cannot ignore their responsibilities for political convenience -- and the American people will not tolerate an increase in the debt limit without spending cuts and reforms," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.
The impasse has people on both sides scratching their heads over how it will be resolved. The anxiety is such that some on the left are urging Obama to mint a coin worth perhaps $1 trillion to be deposited at the Federal Reserve and drawn upon to meet government obligations.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/11/top-senate-dems-urge-obama-to-take-unilateral-action-on-debt-ceiling/#ixzz2HjZi3tYm

‘No Ma’am’: Letter From US Marine To Dianne Feinstein Goes Viral

‘No ma’am’: Letter from U.S. Marine to Dianne Feinstein goes viral

Cpl Joshua Boston (photo source)

The following letter, written by U.S. Marine Joshua Boston and headlined “No ma’am.,” was posted in the CNN iReport on Dec. 27 with the included note from the producer and photo. It has struck a nerve with many and is being circulated around social media venues like Twitter and Facebook.

Senator Dianne Feinstein,

I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime. You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain. I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.

I am not your subject. I am the man who keeps you free. I am not your servant. I am the person whom you serve. I am not your peasant. I am the flesh and blood of America.

I am the man who fought for my country. I am the man who learned. I am an American. You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.

I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.

We, the people, deserve better than you.

Respectfully Submitted,
Joshua Boston
Cpl, United States Marine Corps
2004-2012

Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/dianne-feinstein/2013/01/02/no-ma-am-letter-us-marine-dianne-feinstein-goes-viral?cmpid=NL_FiredUpFoxNation#ixzz2Gw4LguBi

John Boehner told Harry Reid to "go f--- yourself"

foxnews/

newswhip.com

As nasty as the battle over the fiscal crisis bill looked on the floors of Congress, it was even nastier behind the scenes.

Sources confirmed to Fox News that House Speaker John Boehner told Harry Reid to "go f--- yourself" while passing by the Senate majority leader at the White House Friday.

The outburst came after Reid, on Thursday, took to the floor and likened Boehner to a dictator. Reid had claimed Boehner was holding back a bill out of concern for his speakership. 

"John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on firm financial footing," Reid said Thursday, claiming the chamber was "being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker."

Boehner did not take kindly to the accusation. Politico first reported that Boehner swore at Reid when he saw him the next day at the White House, where congressional leaders were convening for a meeting. 

Reid reportedly seemed startled, asking, "What are you talking about?" Boehner then repeated, "Go f--- yourself." 

Boehner's office offered "no comment" on the incident.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2013/01/02/boehner-swore-reid-after-dictatorship-comment-sources-say/#ixzz2Gqs6iBzj

Fiscal Heroes and Zeroes

huffingtonpost.ca

Jan. 2, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government, a non-partisan group dedicated to limiting the size and scope of government at all levels, blasted members of Congress who voted in favor of the tax increase measure that passed both the Senate and House of Representatives on New Year's Day.

Bill Wilson, president of the group denounced the law saying, "This so-called 'deal' is typical Washington, D.C., laden with pork including a subsidy for Obama's Hollywood buddies and even NASCAR, while increasing taxes on every working American. Incredibly the law will be classified as a tax cut because it passed after the Bush tax cuts expired, so in D.C. doublespeak, politicians will claim to have cut taxes when everyone's taxes are actually going up."

An initial analysis of the legislation utilizing estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation conducted by ALG showed that while the tax increases on those making more than $400,000 a year will generate approximately $30 billion in revenues a year, the cost of servicing the projected increased federal debt of $1.2 trillion will actually eat away about 88 cents of every new dollar raised.

"By avoiding actually dealing with Washington's spending addiction, they have raised taxes to do little more than pay the increased interest on the debt over the next year. Meanwhile, the head-in-the-sand types on Capitol Hill will be clamoring to spend this 'new money' on their favored special interests. We are truly through the looking glass."

View online here: http://getliberty.org/fiscal-heroes-and-zeroes/ >>

Fiscal cliff deal: House OKs proposal despite GOP objections

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Details of Tentative Deal

 

foxnews

WASHINGTON –  Highlights of a tentative agreement Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect in the new year. The measure would raise taxes by about $600 billion over 10 years compared with tax policies that expire at midnight Monday. It would also delay for two months across-the-board spending cuts otherwise set to begin slashing the budgets of the Pentagon and numerous domestic agencies.
   Highlights include:
   --Income tax rates: Extends decade-old tax cuts on incomes up to $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for couples. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. Extends Clinton-era caps on itemized deductions and the phase-out of the personal exemption for individuals making more than $250,000 and couples earning more than $300,000.
   --Estate tax: Estates would be taxed at a top rate of 40 percent, with the first $5 million in value exempted for individual estates and $10 million for family estates. In 2012, such estates were subject to a top rate of 35 percent.
   --Capital gains, dividends: Taxes on capital gains and dividend income exceeding $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for families would increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.
   --Alternative minimum tax: Permanently addresses the alternative minimum tax and indexes it for inflation to prevent nearly 30 million middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from being hit with higher tax bills averaging almost $3,000. The tax was originally designed to ensure that the wealthy did not avoid owing taxes by using loopholes.
   --Other tax changes: Extends for five years Obama-sought expansions of the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, and an up to $2,500 tax credit for college tuition. Also extends for one year accelerated "bonus" depreciation of business investments in new property and equipment, a tax credit for research and development costs and a tax credit for renewable energy such as wind-generated electricity.
   --Unemployment benefits: Extends jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed for one year.
   --Cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors: Blocks a 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors for one year. The cut is the product of an obsolete 1997 budget formula.
   --Social Security payroll tax cut: Allows a 2 percentage point cut in the payroll tax first enacted two years ago to lapse, which restores the payroll tax to 6.2 percent.
   --Across-the-board cuts: Delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts set to start striking the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week. Cost of $24 billion is divided between spending cuts and new revenues from rules changes on converting traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/01/details-tentative-deal-that-would-avert-fiscal-crisis/#ixzz2Gl5FAXwt

Republican House leaders voice serious concerns over fiscal bill

Foxnews

Washington –  House Republican leaders voiced serious concern Tuesday afternoon about the Senate's just-passed fiscal crisis bill during a closed door meeting with rank-and-file lawmakers, sources told Fox News. The response raised questions about how the House would handle the deal, which was highly touted by bipartisan officials in the Senate just hours earlier.
Doubts that the GOP-controlled House would pass the plan intensified Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers have just two days to go before a new Congress convenes which limits the House’s options. The House can reject the plan, pass it as written by the Senate – which is unlikely given strong GOP opposition – or amend it. If the House amends it, the legislation goes back to the Senate where time constraints would likely kill it for the current Congressional session.
GOP lawmakers privately met midday Tuesday to gauge support for the accord. While Republican lawmakers expressed concern about the plan they did not directly speak out against it. Instead, Fox News has learned that House Speaker John Boehner held a venting session where members of his party voiced their concern about the legislation. Members also offered up options on what they’d like to see added in or taken out of the bill.
As Boehner listened to Republicans, Vice President Joe Biden listened to what House Democrats had to say. The outcome of Tuesday’s mini-meetings are not yet known. What is known is that time is running out for lawmakers to approve the plan or make meaningful changes to the one passed by the Senate this morning.
The Senate’s plan would prevent taxes from going up on the poor and middle class but would raise rates on households making more than $450,000 a year. It also would also put off for two months more than $100 billion in automatic spending cuts that were set to hit the Pentagon and domestic programs starting this week, and it would extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed.
The Senate voted 89-8 in favor of the package two hours after midnight.
Senate leaders hailed the deal as an “imperfect” but vital solution to the fiscal crisis.
“The president wanted tax increases, but thanks to this imperfect agreement, 99 percent of my constituents won’t be hit by those hikes,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.
Obama praised Senate lawmakers for passing the bill and implored the House to do the same.
"There’s more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I’m willing to do it," Obama said in a statement. "But tonight’s agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans."
Senate leaders assembled the vote after a marathon weekend of talks during which Vice President Biden and McConnell did much of the hard bargaining. After the White House and Senate Republicans agreed to the framework, Biden was brought in once more to sell the deal to reluctant Senate Democrats Monday night.
The late-night deal ironed out the last major sticking point between the two sides -- what to do about the $110 billion in automatic spending cuts set to kick in starting in January.
Officials said the two sides agreed to postpone the cuts by two months, in exchange for a 50-50 mix of revenue increases and spending cuts. Of those cuts, half would come from defense and half would come from other budgets.
Fox News has also learned the deal contains a repeal of an ObamaCare program called the CLASS Act. The provision, which would set up a government-run long-term care program, was never actually implemented amid concerns that it couldn't generate enough revenue to sustain itself.
Fox News' Ed Henry, Chad Pergram and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/01/senate-leaders-aim-for-vote-on-fiscal-crisis-deal-as-congress-misses-deadline/#ixzz2Gl3muF5R

Obama: Fiscal cliff deal 'within sight'

(CNN) -- An agreement to avert the "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and spending cuts appears to be "within sight," President Barack Obama said Monday.

"There are still issued left to resolve, but we are hopeful Congress can get it done," Obama said.

The deal that was taking shape included an agreement to raise the income tax rate on top earners to what it was during President Bill Clinton's last term in office, according to sources close to the process.

A GOP source told CNN negotiators are "very close" to a deal. The sticking point is $24 billion in spending cuts being sought by Republicans, according to the source.

"It's like looking under the cushions at this point," the source said. "If we can't find that at this point, we should pack this place up."

But one leading Senate Democrat warned the deal could run into trouble -- not only from House Republicans who have long opposed any tax increase, but also from liberals in the Senate who oppose allowing more high-income households to escape a tax increase.

"No deal is better than a bad deal, and this looks like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said.

President Barack Obama was expected to discuss the issue in public remarks at the White House.

Keep reading on CNN >>

No fiscal deal Sunday; Senate to return New Year's Eve

By Michael O'Brien, NBC News

After a day of talks that were expected to yield some sort of compromise on the so-called fiscal cliff, Senate leaders called off any further votes until Monday morning, just hours before the deadline that will trigger across-the-board tax increases and dramatic cuts in military and domestic spending. 

The Senate will meet again on New Year's Eve, the last full day before the "cliff" takes effect on Jan. 1. Negotiations were expected to continue in the meanwhile.

A day of wrangling in the Senate came and went without an accord to avoid the fiscal cliff, leaving lawmakers just a matter of hours to sort through thorny issues of taxes and spending that have beguiled Congress for the better part of the past two years. 

Significant distance remains between the two sides and negotiations continue, although the clock continues to tick. Even a simple deal appears far from certain.

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Keep reading >>

Senators work behind scenes Saturday on fiscal deal, votes would come Sunday

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner outside the White House in Washington. (AP)

Senate leaders are working off-stage Saturday to reach a final-hours deal to avert a fiscal crisis, with no official proposals or votes expected until Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has adjourned the chamber until Sunday so Democratic and Republican leaders can negotiate on a deal to present to the House.

House members will officially return to Capitol Hill on Sunday in expectation that the Senate will present them with a plan to stop tax increases that are scheduled to kick in next week.

Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle vowed late Friday to scramble over the weekend to produce a new bill, on the heels of a high-stakes White House meeting with President Obama that is seen as the last chance to come together before the tax-hike deadline.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes senators can come forward with a recommendation as early as Sunday. 

Several senior administration officials told Fox News late Friday night that McConnell, R-Ky., is showing strong signs that he will help seal a deal.

However, they acknowledges he will have a difficult time getting a deal passed in the Republican-controlled House, which  has so far rejected any plan that includes allowing tax rates to increase for higher-earning Americans.

Reid called the White House meeting Friday "very constructive." 

"We need to have everybody step back a bit," he said.

The pledge to work on a new bill is by no means a solution to the sweeping set of tax hikes set to hit Jan. 1, followed by steep spending cuts. Lawmakers still have to write the bill, and produce something that can pass both chambers. 

Obama, speaking from the White House briefing room late Friday, voiced a dose of doubt about the Senate leaders' final push for a deal. 

He said he's "modestly optimistic" but that if Reid and McConnell fail, the Senate should allow an up-or-down vote on a scaled-back proposal the president is pushing. 

"The hour for immediate action is here, it is now," Obama said. "We're now at the last minute, and the American people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. ... We've got to get this done." 

Considering how late this effort is getting underway, lawmakers easily run the risk of missing the deadline and causing at least some uncertainty with Americans' tax bills starting next week. 

The developments late Friday, though, at least showed Reid and McConnell were beginning to work together. And it marked a decision by lawmakers that the Senate should make the first move -- for days, House Speaker John Boehner has insisted that the Senate act, but Reid has resisted and put the onus on the House. 

It's unclear what the new bill would entail. It appears the Senate wants to tweak the Obama plan, which would include an extension of current tax rates for most Americans -- but potentially adjust it so fewer earners see a tax hike, and add a provision dealing with a looming expansion of the estate tax. 

The debt ceiling, which Obama wants increased, would not be part of this bill. And a senior White House official admitted it is unclear how a looming set of spending cuts would be addressed. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/29/senators-work-behind-scenes-saturday-on-fiscal-deal-votes-would-come-sunday/#ixzz2GT2vFe9D

Senate to Try One Last Time for Fiscal Crisis Solution

Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle vowed late Friday to scramble over the weekend to produce a new bill aimed at averting the fiscal crisis, on the heels of a high-stakes White House meeting -- seen as the last chance to come together before the tax-hike deadline next week. 

Though the meeting did not yield a breakthrough or any "concrete" proposals, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell [photo] gave taxpayers a glimmer of hope by announcing on the floor that the Senate would adjourn Saturday to allow staff to work on a bill. McConnell said he hopes they can come forward with a recommendation as early as Sunday. 

"We need to have everybody step back a bit," said Reid, who called the meeting "very constructive." 

The pledge to work on a new bill is by no means a solution to the sweeping set of tax hikes set to hit Jan. 1, followed by steep spending cuts. Lawmakers still have to write the bill, and produce something that can pass both chambers. 

President Obama, speaking from the White House briefing room late Friday, voiced a dose of doubt about the Senate leaders' final push for a deal. 

He said he's "modestly optimistic" but that if Reid and McConnell fail, the Senate should allow an up-or-down vote on a scaled-back proposal the president is pushing. 

"The hour for immediate action is here, it is now," Obama said. "We're now at the last minute, and the American people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. ... We've got to get this done." 

Considering how late this effort is getting underway, lawmakers easily run the risk of missing the deadline and causing at least some uncertainty with Americans' tax bills starting next week. 

The developments late Friday, though, at least showed Reid and McConnell were beginning to work together. And it marked a decision by lawmakers that the Senate should make the first move -- for days, House Speaker John Boehner has insisted that the Senate act, but Reid has resisted and put the onus on the House. 

It's unclear what the new bill would entail. It appears the Senate wants to tweak the Obama plan, which would include an extension of current tax rates for most Americans -- but potentially adjust it so fewer earners see a tax hike, and add a provision dealing with a looming expansion of the estate tax. 

The debt ceiling, which Obama wants increased, would not be part of this bill. And a senior White House official admitted it is unclear how a looming set of spending cuts would be addressed. 

The White House official said that during the meeting, Reid and McConnell jumped in and offered to draft a new plan after Obama told them he thought his scaled-back proposal could pass both chambers. 

The president's plan is a far cry from the kind of "grand bargain" lawmakers were shooting for just a few weeks ago -- something that would narrow the deficit, overhaul the tax code and set the country on a course to curb its entitlement spending, all while averting massive tax hikes and spending cuts. 

Instead, Obama wants a bill that primarily nixes the tax hikes for families making under $250,000. He has pushed that particular provision for months, though Republicans have adamantly opposed raising taxes on those making above $250,000. 

Obama's proposal would also extend unemployment benefits for roughly 2 million people expected to lose them next year, and deal with "other outstanding issues." 

Obama referred to those other issues last week when he called for laying "the groundwork for future growth and deficit reduction," which presumably would be a commitment to return next year and draft broader tax and entitlement reform. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/28/obama-congressional-leaders-give-talks-to-avert-fiscal-crisis-one-last-try/#ixzz2GP9Z4LtK

What leaders said after financial cliff meeting

politicalticker

Washington (CNN) - Congressional leaders spoke Friday after meeting about the fiscal cliff with President Barack Obama at the White House.

Congressional leaders attending the meeting was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Vice President Joe Biden was to be in attendance, the White House said, and an administration official said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would attend as well.

Obama was set to make a statement at 5:45 p.m. ET.
McConnell and Reid spoke on the Senate floor.
Reid said, “we had a constructive meeting. We certainly hope that something positive will come from that. The republican leader and I and our staffs are working and we’ll see what we can come up with. We shouldn’t take a long time to do that. …
“If we come up with something, it’s not that easy. We’re dealing with big numbers and some of the stuff that we do is somewhat complicated. But I think it was a very positive meeting,” he said. “There was not a lot of hilarity in the meeting, everyone knows how important it is. It was a very serious meeting and it took an extended period of time as you all know waiting for us.”
McConnell spoke immediately after Reid, saying, “I share the view of the majority leader. We had a good meeting down at the White House.
“We are engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself and the White House, in the hopes that we can come forward as early as Sunday and have a recommendation that I can make to my conference and the majority leader [Reid] can make to his conference and so we’ll be working hard to try and see if we can get there in the next 24 hours,” he said. “And so I’m hopeful and optimistic.”
Boehner’s office issued a statement which said he “reminded the group that the House has already acted to avert the entire fiscal cliff and is awaiting Senate action.”
“The leaders spent the majority of the meeting discussing potential options and components for a plan that could pass both chambers of Congress,” the statement read. “The Speaker told the President that if the Senate amends the House-passed legislation and sends back a plan, the House will consider it – either by accepting or amending. The group agreed that the next step should be the Senate taking bipartisan action.”
In a paper statement, McConnell’s office also pointed to legislation which had passed the House.
“While the House already passed legislation in August to prevent tax hikes (a proposal Sen. McConnell supports), the President and Congressional leaders today agreed that the Senate must now act,” the statement read. “This will require a bipartisan approach. Members of the Senate will continue to work toward producing a bipartisan package in a timely manner to protect American taxpayers and jobs from a massive tax hike in January.”
Pelosi said the meeting was "constructive" and "candid."

Boehner calls House back to Washington on Sunday

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Stanton: Why John Boehner Will (Probably) Be Fine

Pat Dollard

Excerpted from Buzzfeed: WASHINGTON — Democrats and some conservatives are dreaming this weekend of a late Christmas present: House Speaker John Boehner’s head on a platter.

But that probably won’t happen, for several reasons. First, legislative coups are risky, and the fiscal cliff talks are still playing out. Meanwhile, Boehner is personally popular. The opposition has no clear leader.
But perhaps most important of all, it’s not clear that it’s in the interest of the conservative Republicans leading talk of the coup to dive into the messy business of making deals with a Democratic president and Senate, or assuming responsibility for the 2014 midterm elections.
“I’m not,” Boehner said Friday, asked whether he was worried about his speakership following the collapse of his attempt to rally Republicans around an alternative tax increase plan to President Obama’s. “They weren’t taking that out on me — they were dealing with the perception that they were raising taxes,” he said.
In theory, a coup is possible: many conservatives would gleefully support such a move — and few Democrats would shed a tear. And it would only take a handful of his conference to throw the election for speaker into chaos. As National Journal points out, it would take just 17 Republicans voting for anyone other than Boehner to throw the election into chaos.
But while he may have lost control of his conference, Boehner has a lot of reasons to not be worried about actually losing the speakership when the House convenes January 3rd to hold elections.
Keep reading…

House Republicans Plan to Oust Boehner from Speakership

responsebeacon

Several conservative House Republican members are contemplating a plan to unseat Speaker John Boehner from his position on January 3, Breitbart News has exclusively learned. Staffers have compiled a detailed action plan that, if executed, could make this a reality.

The Republicans, both conservatives and more establishment members alike, are emboldened after the failure of Boehner’s fiscal cliff “Plan B” on Thursday evening. Dissatisfaction with Boehner is growing in the House Republican conference, but until now there hasn’t been a clear path forward.

Those members and staffers requested anonymity from Breitbart News at this time to prevent retaliation from Boehner similar to what happened to those four members who were purged from their powerful committee assignments a few weeks ago. Their expressed concern is that if Boehner knew who they were, his adverse reaction toward them would be much more brutal than losing committee assignments, such as a primary challenge in 2014 by a leadership-sponsored candidate.

Sen. Rubio on The Fiscal Cliff and The Tragedy in Connecticut

SenatorMarcoRubio