A day after a testy end to debt limit talks at the White House, both parties again seemed more than ready for a fight, with sharp rhetorical jabs in both the House and Senate. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration said no more time would be given for negotiations.
That message came from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who spoke to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats. The message was simple.
"We've looked at all available options, and we have no way to give Congress more time to solve this problem," said Geithner, who added, "we're running out of time" on that August 2 deadline.
The day got off to a chippy start as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid kicked things off on the Senate floor by skewering Republicans, especially House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who was in a spat on Wednesday with President Obama.
"There are some in the Republican Party who will not listen to the truth no matter who speaks it," Reid said, later adding that Cantor shouldn't be allowed back in negotiations at the White House.
A few minutes later, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was on the attack, again arguing for his controversial plan to give President Obama the power to raise the debt ceiling.
"If the President would rather default than cut back on the size of government, let him explain that," McConnell said, as he called for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
That plan won an interesting public endorsement an hour later on the other side of the Capitol, as House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was asked about the McConnell plan, which has been the subject of some grumbling by more conservative Republicans.
"Bravo for Sen. McConnell," said Pelosi.
Democrats denounced Republicans who raised the possibility of not raising the debt limit, arguing it would create a fiscal bloodbath that would harm millions of Americans.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) labeled those who would take that chance, "dangerous and callous" at a news conference.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was back on Capitol Hill again today, taking more questions about the debt limit and what should be done.
"I would urge Congress to take every step possible to avoid defaulting on the debt," said Bernanke.
The Fed Chief though frowned on the idea of only raising the debt ceiling, saying now is a good time to also get a package of major budget changes through the Congress.
"It seems like an opportunity we haven't had for awhile to address longer term fiscal issues," said Bernanke, who did not explicitly choose between budget cuts and/or tax increases as a way to close the budget gap.
Down at the White House, there are more talks scheduled for Thursday afternoon, a day after what one Democrat acknowledged was a "contentious" session, where depending on who you believe, the President either stormed out or did not.
House Democratic Leader Pelosi shrugged off questions about what happened, saying to have the President leave the room was no big deal.
"That's how meetings with Presidents end. You don't leave first."
