Has John Boehner already caved on the debt ceiling?

Multiple reports suggest that the House Speaker won't let the U.S. default on its debt, even if he has to rely on Democrats

Boehner
(Image credit: (Win McNamee/Getty Images))

There's been a lot of talk about hostage-taking in this government shutdown. Most of the time, Republicans are cast in the role of the hostage-takers.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has pledged that Democrats won't negotiate "with a gun to our head," White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer told CNN that the Obama administration isn't inclined toward "negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest," and even former George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen got in on the metaphor, lamenting in The Washington Post that the GOP is flunking "Hostage Taking 101" because they "they took the wrong hostage" — the government shutdown instead of the debt ceiling.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.