President Barack Obama and Republican leaders appeared ready to end a political crisis that has shuttered much of the U.S. government and pushed the country dangerously close to default after meeting at the White House on Thursday.
No deal emerged from the 90-minute meeting, but talks continued into the night in an effort to re-open the government and extend the government’s borrowing authority beyond an October 17 deadline. One senior Republican said an agreement could come on Friday, though hurdles remain.
The plummeting standing of congressional Republicans in public opinion polls helped spur a move toward ending the standoff, Oklahoma Republican Representative James Lankford said on CNN Thursday night. The latest, an NBC-Wall Street Journal survey published on Thursday, showed the public blaming Republicans by a 22-point margin — 53 to 31 percent, Reuters informs.
