When debt limit negotiations between Speaker John Boehner and President Obama collapsed in the summer of 2011, Mitch McConnell stepped in and struck a deal to avert default. Half a year later, when the two sides were at an impasse on how to extend the payroll tax cut, the Senate minority leader again intervened and gave Republicans an escape route.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=93064