Bob Costa passes along audio of Speaker Boehner talking to Rush Limbaugh just moments ago. Boehner assures Limbaugh that there is no deal with the White House, “publicly” nor “privately.” Boehner says his focus remains on urging the Senate to pass “Cut, Cap, and Balance.”
That would contradict just about everything else I’ve heard on and off the record today, for what it’s worth. And indeed, if you listen to what Boehner tells Rush about “keeping the lines of communication open” and having “failsafe” plans in place, it sounds a lot like he’s just being careful not to say what everybody knows — that “Cut, Cap, and Balance” is a dead letter — before it actually goes down in the Senate.
UPDATE: A top McConnell aid tweets: “Sen. Reid says he’s not going to “waste” any more time on Cut, Cap and Balance and the Senate will vote tomorrow.”