John Boehner will need to draw at least 30 GOP votes in order to raise the $18.1 trillion debt ceiling by Nov. 3, assuming the entire Democratic caucus also votes for the bill. It's an uphill battle,
reports Peter Schroeder:
Boehner was only able to pull 28 votes the last time the House approved a clean debt-ceiling increase — and one-third of those lawmakers have since left Congress.
Now Boehner is even weaker politically, and he has little time to act. [...]
The White House has refused to negotiate on raising the debt ceiling, and talks on funding the government appear to be on a separate track — giving Boehner little leverage.
When Boehner put forward a bill last month to keep the government funded through mid-December that didn't also defund Planned Parenthood, he managed to draw
91 Republican votes even as right-wing conservatives registered their objections with 151 "no" votes.
But this time around, the right wingers are threatening to immediately oust him if he brings forward a bill that doesn't try to extract concessions from the Democrats.
Meanwhile, Pelosi is calling on Boehner to avoid a default that would likely lower the nation's credit rating and throw the markets into convulsions.
"It's time for Republicans to end their calendar of chaos," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). "Republicans should bring forward a clean bill to honor the full faith and credit of the United States immediately."
Just as a reminder, the GOP hasn't been able to pass a debt ceiling hike without the Democrats help since the tea party takeover in 2010. It used to be that the majority party carried the votes while the minority party complained. But GOP incompetence has become the new normal.