Boehner to offer debt deal that Dems. have already rejected, includes short-term deal

The pressure is on Boehner and he's trying to make sure financial markets don't tank in the wake of his recent shenanigans. It feels like this has all been a political game for Boehner, but there are really serious consequences:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told his GOP rank-and-file that congressional leaders are working round the clock on a deal set for release before the Asian markets open on Sunday at 4 p.m., a source tells The Hill.

Boehner gave few details as to the yet-to-be-seen proposal, according to an official who participated in the conference call held following a tense meeting at the White House on Saturday afternoon.

"He didn't mention any details; he said the big deal is the Asian markets tomorrow and therefore, we've got to get something out there," the source said, with a cynical attitude as to the urgency of the Asian markets.

So, Boehner has finally figured out the financial markets will tank if there's no deal. His friends on Wall Street have been warning him about that for months.

The NYT reports that Boehner is cooking up a package of cuts worth $3-4 trillion:

Hoping to reassure markets in the wake of an angry breakdown in the federal budget negotiations, Congressional leaders raced Saturday to reach a new deficit-reduction agreement that Speaker John A. Boehner told colleagues could cut $3 trillion to $4 trillion in spending over 10 years.

“We are working, and I’m confident there will be resolution,” Mr. Boehner told fellow House Republicans on an afternoon conference call, according to participants. “There has to be.”

There has to be. Exactly.

And, Sam Stein reports that Boehner is going to include a short-term debt ceiling fix, which Obama has specifically rejected:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is set to call the Democratic Party's bluff on the debt ceiling. The Ohio Republican, in a briefing with his conference on Saturday, announced that he would press for a short-term deal, with major spending cuts paired with longer-term deficit-reduction strategies, as a way around the current impasse.

As Boehner knows, Hill Democrats have consistently rejected any plan that relies solely on cuts -- Obama does not want a short-term extension. But, he's pushing both anyway. Now, he's just trying to jam it through, assuming Democrats will just go along instead of letting the country default. Because, there has to be.