• House Republicans increasingly alone as holiday nears

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    When the debate of contested issues turns eyes toward Capitol Hill, press photographers are experts in capturing subtle nuances in the heat of the moment. Today's photos by Chip Somodevilla are no exception.

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    Speaker of the House John Boehner listens during a news conference with Rep. Nan Hayworth, from left, Rep. Fred Upton, Rep. Kevin Brady and fellow GOP House members who want to negotiate new payroll tax cut legislation at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 22.

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is chased by reporters after a news conference with fellow GOP House members who want to negotiate new payroll tax cut legislation at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 22.

    NBC's Libby Leist and Frank Thorp describe what's at the heart of the matter:

    After days of silence, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is calling on the House GOP to pass the two-month payroll-tax-cut extension -- and for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) to appoint negotiators to work with the House on a long-term deal after that extension is passed.

    "House Republicans sensibly want greater certainty about the duration of these provisions, while Senate Democrats want more time to negotiate the terms," his statement says. "These goals are not mutually exclusive. We can and should do both."

    House Speaker John Boehner's office had this response: "The House and Senate have two different bills, but the same goal," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said. "That is why we believe, as Senator McConnell suggested, the two chambers should work to reconcile the two bills so that we can provide a full year of payroll tax relief -- and do it before year's end."

    Read their full story on first read.

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  • Protesters urge government spending cuts on Capitol Hill

    Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

    Protesters demonstrate in front of the Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on April 6, urging for government spending cut. Republican US House Speaker John Boehner told US President Barack Obama he was "hopeful" that talks on sweeping spending cuts would reach a deal to avert a partial government shutdown at week's end. Boehner reiterated that the House's goal is to prevent a government shutdown and make real cuts in spending, which the Speaker has argued is necessary to support private-sector job creation and boost confidence in the nation's economy." US lawmakers and the White House are racing to make a midnight Friday deadline to have an agreement on legislation funding government operations through October 1, failing which key federal agencies will shut down.

    J. Scott Applewhite / AP

    House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, accompanied by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 6, after meeting to work on a budget deal and avoid a government shutdown.

    Evan Vucci / AP

    Visitors gather in the main entrance of the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, Wednesday, April 6. The White House warns of a temporary cutoff in pay for troops in war zones if the budget impasse brings a partial government shutdown. The IRS wouldn't be able to process some tax refunds, and there also could be a holdup in mortgage applications and small business loans. National parks and museums would be closed, too.

     NBC's Nomenico Montanaro says:

    "The president isn't leading," House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) charged, noting first that he liked the president personally and that they "get along well."

    He criticized the president for not implementing any of his own fiscal commission's recommendations in his budget.

    And he upped the ante, saying House Republicans were prepared to go forward with a bold one-week continuing resolution that would cut a whopping $12 billion in spending but continue to fund the Pentagon through September.

    Read the rest of Montanaro's story in First Read.

  • After Obama lunch, GOP leaders promise cooperation

    By Carissa Ray

    The top image is well handled by photographer Chip Somodevilla. Looking at the size of the press pool as seen in the wider image below, making an image without other reporters, the construction eye-sore to the right and without a tree branch ill-placed and coming out of Boehner's head was not a challenge met by many photographers. 

    Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

    Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) (C) talks to reporters with House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (L) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) after a lunch meeting at the White House on Feb. 9 in Washington, DC. The House Republican leadership was invited to a lunch meeting with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and White House Chief of Staff William Daley to talk about jobs and the economy.

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    House Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio, center, accompanied by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., right, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of Calif. speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington on Feb. 9, following their luncheon with President Barack Obama.

     Read the full story on the White House / GOP luncheon here.

  • Susan Walsh / AP

    House Speaker-desigante John Boehner of Ohio, left, poses for a photo with Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and a flat Stacie doll, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 5, during the first session of the 112th Congress.

    John Boehner and Flat Stacie: A different side of Congress seen on day 1 of the 112th session

    By Carissa Ray

    A lot of Congressmen and Congresswomen bring their families and the floor seems generally festive on the mostly-ceremonial first day of the new session. Even so, it was an unexpected sight to see Speaker-designate Boehner taking a moment to pose with a flat Stacie doll before he took center stage.

    I've heard of elementary school classes doing Flat Stanley and Flat Stacie projects where children make and send a doll to a relative or other students in a different place, and that person or group takes photos of the doll at events or at notable locations and sends the doll and a photo album back so the student or class can learn through Stacie or Stanley's "adventure."

    Here's a link to an explanation of Flat Stacie from the Girl Scouts, one of the sponsors of such activities between troops.

  • Pete Souza / White House via Reuters

    President Barack Obama makes an election night phone call to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) from his Treaty Room office in the White House residence a couple of minutes after midnight, November 3.

    Election night phone call

    It would have been great to be a fly on the wall for this conversation.