Despite talk earlier in the week that the Congress would "work through the weekend" in order to get a debt limit deal, it seems like only Congressional leaders will have to stick around, as the White House and Speaker John Boehner keep trying for a major debt limit deal.
Word that Boehner and President Obama might be nearing agreement on a $3 trillion budget savings package - which seemed to be made up only of budget cuts - sparked howls among Democrats and disbelief among Republicans, who wondered what the catch was.
The catch seemed to be an agreement for major tax reforms, which might then necessitate a deal that allowed for Congress to bring in more revenue through major tax reforms.
Many Republicans worried that such a plan would be the same as a tax increase, making them wonder about how they could support such a deal.
House Republicans will meet at the Capitol early on Friday to discuss the way forward - that's one meeting you would love to be able to listen in on, just to get the flavor of what's going on.
About the time that Speaker Boehner is holding a news conference, the Senate will vote on a motion to kill the Cut, Cap and Balance bill that was approved Tuesday by the House.
The assumption is that the Cut, Cap & Balance bill won't get enough votes to stay alive - so with it out of the way - maybe that will provide the necessary cover to begin real compromise talks.
Instead of waiting to force a vote on the measure on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled that he would move to table the motion to begin debate on the bill this morning, a rarely used parliamentary maneuver on what's known as the motion to proceed.
Reid - in an unusually animated statement on the Senate floor - denounced the Cut, Cap & Balance plan in no uncertain terms, labeling it a "waste" of time.
"This is a bad piece of legislation," said Reid, who argued that the bill was maybe the worst bill ever to hit the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Have we finally reached the point where the deal will be cut?
Nobody seemed to know that answer on Thursday at the Capitol.
