WASHINGTON - Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet asked Congressman Randy Hultgren why he voted "yes" on the Boehner bill Friday afternoon after repeatedly leaning no.
"I didn't change, the bill changed," Hultgren told me outside the House chamber after Boehner squeezed out his face-saving rollcall. To win votes, including Hultgren's, Boehner added language to start the process of sending a balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification.
And then he added:
"It's frustrating. We've known for days this day was coming. It doesn't need to be this way. The American people are frustrated with Congress," Hultgren told me.
On Thursday and Friday Hultgren met three times with Boehner; twice an individual meeting. He met twice with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, with a one-on-one; a group meeting with House Whip Kevin McCarthy and Illinois Rep. Peter Roskam chief deputy whip.
