Fiscal-cliff drama: John Boehner reportedly told Harry Reid to go f--- himself

Passions, it seems, were running awfully high behind the scenes

House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: Not exactly BFF.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

After a chaotic day of wailing Republican angst, the House on Tuesday night finally passed a bill that would extend the Bush tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans. The bill's passage caps months of maddeningly inconclusive negotiations between the White House and several players in Congress, and it wasn't until the last couple days that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden crafted a compromise that was able to pass the Senate with flying bipartisan colors.

Of course, it seems unlikely that the compromise will herald a new era of comity between the two parties. There was apparently no love lost between the negotiations' principal players, particularly House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). According to Politico, this happened:

"Go f— yourself," Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.

Reid, a bit startled, replied: "What are you talking about?"

Boehner repeated: "Go f— yourself."

Boehner's salty riposte — which reportedly came "just a few steps from the Oval Office" — was in response to Reid's claim on the Senate floor that Boehner was running a "dictatorship" in the House. Boehner was reportedly so pleased with his bon mot that he later "bragged" about it to his fellow Republicans.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Read the entire story at Politico.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.