WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is set to address reporters Friday evening, and a Democratic official says House Speaker John Boehner called Obama and said he was walking away from the talks.
The Democratic official says Boehner was halting talks for a second time over an unwillingness to consider tax increases on the wealthy and over health care and other non-budget-related disputes.
The fast-paced developments come as an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the nation’s borrowing limit looms ever closer.
Obama and Boehner had been working to craft a major deficit-cutting deal that could get through Congress in coming days to avert a default. The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of comments by the president.