GOP mulls short-term debt ceiling extension

By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News

House Republicans huddled behind closed doors on Thursday to consider a short-term extension of the nation’s debt limit in hopes of jump-starting fiscal talks with President Barack Obama.

As a GOP negotiating team prepares to meet with Obama at the White House later this afternoon, the GOP was expected to mull an option in which they would vote to extend the nation’s borrowing authority, without conditions, for a short period of time.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., joins Morning Joe to discuss what happens if the country does default on its debt obligations.

Such a move would represent a concession of sorts to Obama, who has demanded that Republicans both reopen the government and raise the government’s debt limit – even for a short period of time – as a precondition to sitting down at the bargaining table.

“Re-open the government, extend the debt ceiling,” Obama said Tuesday afternoon at the White House. “If they can't do it for a long time, do it for a period of time in which in which these negotiations are taking place.”

It’s not clear, though, whether the GOP proposal would reopen the government and provide relief to hundreds of thousands of furloughed government workers and millions more affected by the shutdown.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is pictured following a House Republican party meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 8, 2013.

Still, it’s not clear whether a short-term negotiating window would yield any more productive outcomes than during previous negotiations over the past few years. Failing to reach an agreement would threaten to only revive the same battle that has recently plagued Washington a few weeks later, likely around the holiday season.

Moreover, Republicans are somewhat divided over what concessions to seek during negotiations from Obama. Some GOP lawmakers wish to undo part or all of Obamacare, while other Republicans are seeking entitlement cuts and still others wish to achieve tax reform. Whether these plans can win support from Obama, though, without giving on the question of taxes or sequester spending levels is another question.

As the House mulled its path forward, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., introduced legislation in the Senate that would cleanly raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2014.

NBC News’ Luke Russert contributed reporting.

This story was originally published on Thu Oct 10, 2013 10:50 AM EDT