Joe Biden in Kentucky, June 2010 (Photo: David Lienemann/White House)
Despite initially balking, House and Senate Republicans have agreed to attend Vice President Joe Biden's bipartisan budget meeting Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill:
Congressional Republican leaders are now saying they will attend Thursday’s afternoon meeting with White House officials and Democratic leaders on the budget.
Aides to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said both leaders will be present when Vice President Joseph Biden and others gather at 4 p.m. in the Senate to kick off talks on a deal to keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year.
Although Republicans have backed off their initial decision to skip the meeting, John Boehner is trying to keep the focus on Democrats by arguing that Biden should negotiate with Democrats instead of both parties:
"I think the vice president would better spend his time if he sat down with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and come up with a Democrat position," Boehner told Fox News. "It'd be a far better use of his time."
I guess somebody needs to tell John Boehner that Republicans are now in control of one of the two chambers of Congress. Whether he likes it or not, if we're going to get a deal done to keep the government open, it's going to take both parties. He can say my way or the highway all he wants, but if he doesn't start compromising, he's going to be the one hitting the road.