Reid called the Virginia Republican congressman "childish."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., right, accompanied by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2011, as the budget talks continued.WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says House Majority Leader Eric Cantor should not be part of the debt limit negotiations. He's calling the Virginia Republican congressman "childish."
Reid says Cantor's conduct during the sensitive White House talks have shown, in Reid's words, "he shouldn't even be at the table." Reid says other congressional leaders are negotiating in good faith as an Aug. 2 deadline approaches for raising the debt limit.
That's when the Obama administration says the government would begin defaulting if no agreement is reached to raise the borrowing limit. Leaders of both parties and the business world have said that a default would be catastrophic.
The daily talks ended Wednesday with Obama and Cantor clashing, and the president leaving the room. They resume late Thursday afternoon.