No Deal, GOP Sen. Richard Shelby emerged from a White House meeting on a $700 billion Wall Street bailout to say: “I don’t believe we have an agreement.”
Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, had earlier told CNBC that he had serious doubts about the proposal.
Shelby’s opposition was the latest twist in a turbulent day in Washington, when several officials asserted that an agreement in principle had been reached, only to be contradicted moments later by other lawmakers.
President Bush convened the meeting of top officials from both parties—as well as the two presidential candiates—at the White House to hammer out an agreement on the bailout. The present urged lawmakers that he hoped an agreement would be reached soon.
“We’re in a serious economic crisis in the country if we don’t pass a piece of legislation,” Bush said at the beginning of the meeting. “We know we’ve got to get something done as quickly as possible. My hope is that we can reach an agreement very shortly.”
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The president was flanked by Democratic and Republican House and Senate leaders as well as the two presidential candidates, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.
In the earlier CNBC interview, Shelby said he would raise several objections to the plan at the White House meeting.
“I have my doubts,” the Alabama senator said. “I don’t know this will solve all the problems in the economy.”
Shelby’s comments came after House GOP leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said his party has not reached a deal yet on the bailout plan.
“I am encouraged by the bipartisan progress,” Boehner said in a statement. But “House Republicans have not agreed to any plan at this point.”
