Sen. Cruz high-fives Speaker Cruz
With multiple media outlets reporting that the Senate is nearing a deal to end the Republican shutdown, one might think, it's about damn time. Well, not so fast. Because the Godfather of this shutdown, de facto Speaker of the House and sometimes Senator Ted Cruz has jumped into action:
Sen. Ted Cruz met with roughly 15 to 20 House Republicans for around two hours late Monday night at the Capitol Hill watering hole Tortilla Coast.
The group appeared to be talking strategy about how they should respond to a tentative Senate deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling without addressing Obamacare in a substantive way, according to sources who witnessed the gathering. The Texas Republican senator and many of the House Republicans in attendance had insisted on including amendments aimed at dismantling Obamacare in the continuing resolution that was intended to avert the current shutdown.
If history is any guide, this is not good news for the potential deal coming together in the Senate. Mostly because the official Speaker of the House John Boehner is a coward. Boehner will be meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal. Stay tuned.
6:02 AM PT: Well, that didn't take long: