An expected vote in the House on a Republican bill to raise the debt limit was suddenly in jeopardy on Thursday night, as GOP leaders pulled the bill from the floor amid talk that Speaker Boehner was short on votes.
For hours, all the signs had pointed to a GOP victory, but late in the day there were bad rumblings for Republicans, as a number of votes began to escape their grasp.
And then suddenly, the announcement from the Chair was that the House was going to "move to other legislation."
Off the floor of the House, aides and lawmakers were scrambling around to figure out what was next - and there were few answers.
One senior Republican lawmaker told me emphatically, "Do not go home!" trying to send the message that a vote would take place no matter what.
But there was some thought that a vote would occur even if the vote outlook didn't change, but the hallways were filled with all kinds of rumors, difficult to sift through at this evening hour.
Downstairs, GOP leaders were meeting with a number of Republicans who did not want to vote for the bill. I ran into one of them, Rep. Bill Posey of Florida, who was being hauled in for another meeting with the Speaker.
All week, Posey has stayed on the fence, but his body language has been that of someone who is not interested at all in voting for this legislation. He had no comment on where he stood on the bill when asked as he walked down the hallway just outside the House Chamber.
Check back for more updates tonight.
