White House, GOP Leaders Discuss Ways Forward On Long-Term Budget

The Wall Street Journal: Republicans, White House In Fresh Budget Talks
The preliminary talks are geared at finding a way around discretionary spending caps outlined in a 2011 budget law that many lawmakers see as draconian. ... The House and Senate are expected Wednesday to pass a stopgap spending measure to keep the government running through Dec. 11. ...The chances of a two-year deal are uncertain and could depend on whether House conservatives balk at negotiating an agreement with Democrats. Conservative suspicion that establishment GOP leaders are too willing to give in to Democrats has already delayed passage of an interim spending bill. Social conservatives don’t have the votes to stop the short-term bill, which is a plain-vanilla measure that extends government funding at current levels and doesn’t include language to end funding for Planned Parenthood. (Hughes and Peterson, 9/29)

Politico: White House, GOP Weighing Big Budget Talks
A major budget deal could be elusive, however. Democrats and many Republicans are eager for a broader agreement that would lift federal spending for domestic programs — the top demand of congressional Democrats — while hawkish GOP lawmakers want more money for defense programs. But many conservatives want to keep strict spending caps in place, praising them as a measure of fiscal discipline. In exchange for increasing some key spending levels, McConnell will insist on offsetting those costs and will take a hard line against any tax hikes. (Kim, 9/29)

Politico: How McConnell Outfoxed Ted Cruz
McConnell may not like to talk about [Texas Sen. Ted] Cruz, but he and his leadership lieutenants have quietly and methodically worked to isolate the conservative senator and minimize his effect on the critical fall spending debate. The end result, in spite of Cruz’s invective toward Republican leaders, is music to McConnell’s ears: no government shutdown. ... By moving to quarantine Cruz from the rest of the conference over the past three months, the majority leader demonstrated that he’s learned the lessons of the Cruz-backed government shutdown in 2013 and the Texas senator’s rogue strategy last winter that helped Democrats confirm a raft of judges in the lame duck session. (Everett, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: McConnell's Old-School Style Could Make Him GOP Conservatives' Next Target
But with the abrupt resignation of House Speaker John A. Boehner, McConnell's pragmatic goals are suddenly looking like political liabilities. ... The GOP leader's old-school strategy of getting the Senate back to "regular order" with committee hearings and amendment votes is too timid for conservatives who just kicked his top colleague out the door and prefer bold, unconventional methods. ... In many ways, McConnell, like Boehner, rose to the job just as the political ground shifted beneath him. ... And despite the pressure, Boehner and McConnell are expected this week to shepherd a temporary spending bill through Congress, bypassing conservatives who want a veto showdown with Obama over Planned Parenthood funding. That will assure the government stays open past Wednesday's fiscal year deadline. (Mascaro, 9/29)

The Washington Post: House GOP Hard-Liners Agitate To Have One Of Their Own In A Leadership Role
A generation of House Republicans who have spent the past five years trying to shake up Washington spent Tuesday trying to shake up their party’s leadership contests that have moved coolly toward reinforcing the status quo. They had little success. A campaign to draft one prominent, relatively young conservative, Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.), into the race for majority leader was extinguished before day’s end, leaving restless conservatives to continue their search for a standard-bearer. (DeBonis and Costa, 9/29)