It seems like the negotiations over a budget and debt limit agreement has come down to two people - President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner.
"There is no agreement, there is no deal in private," said Boehner, though he made clear he is keeping all lines of communcation open with the White House.
Boehner made his remarks after meeting with fellow House Republicans; GOP rank and file emerged all on message, saying that their plan remains the "Cut, Cap & Balance" plan to trim $6 trillion in spending, as Republicans demanded that Democrats unveil their own ideas.
"They have no plan, they haven't put anything on a piece of paper," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
"The clock's ticking," Chaffetz added.
A few minutes later, Cut, Cap & Balance was dead, as the Senate voted 51-46 along party lines to "table," or kill the proposal. The vote was all along party lines.
After that result was clear, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid again trashed Republicans and the GOP plan, and then announced that the Senate would not be working this weekend as promised - trying to put all the heat on House Republicans.
"The path to avert default now runs first through the House of Representatives," Reid said.
But for Speaker John Boehner, the path to action in the Congress should come first from Democrats in the Senate and at the White House, as the mantra from Republicans today was, "Where is their plan?"
On the Senate floor, Reid had another very interesting statement, as he all but acknowledged that negotiations on the budget and debt limit have boiled down to the Speaker and the President.
"I wish them well," Reid said.
Will there be a deal between Obama and Boehner?
That's anyone's guess at this point.
As for the President, he was taking a hard line just like the Speaker today, saying that the only deal he will accept is one that has increased tax revenues.
"We can't just close our deficits with spending cuts alone," Mr. Obama told a town hall meeting at the University of Maryland.
"I am willing to cut a historic amount of government spending in order to reduce the deficit," the President said, but he made clear, the tax issue was not negotiable.
On the other side, Boehner says the tax issue is not negotiable.
Eleven days to go until the debt limit deadline.
