Nobody winning in shutdown showdown as debt woes loom

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

At left, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who says pressure from businesses and peeved constitutents will ultimately force the House of Representatives to ‘back off’ in the government shutdown impasse.

Washington’s political poker game is going nowhere fast.

The Obama administration raised the stakes again Sunday, but House Speaker John Boehner stood pat and Sen. Ted Cruz doubled down on the ongoing government shutdown.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned that Congress must quickly pass measures to reopen the government and raise the national debt limit beyond $ 16.7 trillion.

The do-nothing Capitol Hill hacks need to hammer out a deal before an Oct. 17 deadline or run the risk of the first default in American history. Lew says Congress is “playing with fire.”

“There are no winners here,” he noted, bashing the shutdown that began Tuesday after the GOP-led House held out on budget talks to attack Obamacare.

RELATED: BOEHNER: BUDGET SHUTDOWN WON’T END WITHOUT NEGOTIATIONS

“Every day the government is shut down does real harm to the American people,” Lew said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

But Boehner insisted Obama must make the next move. The Ohio Republican said the President should reach out to jump-start negotiations.

“He knows what my number is — all he has to do is call,” Boehner said during “This Week” on ABC.

Roughly 800,000 government workers were furloughed last week, and Boehner warned Sunday that a default could trigger a financial crisis as severe as the mortgage meltdown of 2008.

Tea Party hero Cruz said he and his right-wing counterparts won’t flinch.

RELATED: SHUTDOWN LEAVES FURLOUGHED WORKERS STRUGGLING

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

President Barack Obama, pictured, ought to call House Speaker John Boehner’s bluff in the ongoing government shut down, says Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The Texan Republican called the debt default threat the “best leverage” available to the House as it tussles with Obama.

“We should look for some significant structural plan” to reduce future spending, he argued during “State of the Union” on CNN.

Boehner says the Republican-controlled House won’t pass a debt limit increase unless that measure is packaged with concessions to Republicans.

“We are not going to pass a clean debt limit,” he vowed. “The votes are not in the House.”

But Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Obama administration should call Boehner’s bluff. Schumer believes pressure from the business community and peeved constituents will ultimately force the House to “back off.”

RELATED: HOUSE PASSES BILL TO RETROACTIVELY PAY FURLOUGHED WORKERS

“Let me issue him a friendly challenge,” Schumer said. “Put it on the floor Monday or Tuesday. I would bet there are the votes.”

The GOP has a 232-to-200 majority in the House, meaning the Democrats could prevail with help from just 17 Republicans.

But Boehner must deal with Cruz and his fellow hard-liners.

Asked how the ugly impasse might end, the battered Republican leader sounded glum.

“If I knew, I would tell you,” Boehner said Sunday.

With News Wire Services

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