Responding to news earlier in the day that Obama would make the announcement, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Republicans would oppose any tax increases and noted that Obama was the one who first proposed the sequester. “There is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes,” Boehner said in a statement. “The president’s sequester should be replaced with spending cuts and reforms that will start us on the path to balancing the budget in 10 years.” 
 
 Boehner — and House Republicans, broadly — have been opposed to delaying the sequester. Obama’s push for a short-term solution picked up Democratic support in the Senate on Tuesday.
– President Obama wants to put off the dreaded sequester just a little while longer. In an address this afternoon, Obama called for a handful of small budget cuts to justify pushing the automatic spending cuts back again, this time until after Congress has crafted a new federal budget, the Washington Post reports. The extra time could be used, Obama said, to come up with a "balanced" long-term deficit fix. "There is no reason that the jobs of thousands of Americans … not to mention the growth of the entire economy should be put in jeopardy just because a few folks in Washington couldn't agree to eliminate a few special interest tax loopholes," he said. But before Obama had even spoken, John Boehner issued a statement dismissing the idea of any deal including more tax revenue, accurately predicting that Obama would call for it, Politico reports. "President Obama first proposed the sequester and insisted it become law," Boehner said. "We believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes."