House Speaker John Boehner said Monday he's not promising a House vote to raise the debt ceiling, another sign that the ongoing struggle between Democrats and Republicans over the issue has a ways to go before resolution. 

 

 

In a Monday night interview with Politico, Boehner said it was not his "goal" to hold up a vote on the matter, but that "there's a chance it could not happen" if the president fails to address GOP budget concerns.

 

"If the president doesn't get serious about the need to address our fiscal nightmare, yeah, there's a chance it [the debt limit vote] could not happen," Boehner told POLITICO. "But that's not my goal."

 

As the U.S. nears its $14.3 trillion debt limit, which it is expected to do by the end of May, Republicans appear increasingly staunch in their threats to withhold a vote on the issue in the absence of major concessions from Democrats - particularly in regard to a plan for addressing the nation's deficit problem - even as White House officials warn that failing to do so would result in widespread economic catastrophe.