WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner is signaling that he’ll move must-do legislation to increase the government’s borrowing cap before he leaves Capitol Hill.

The statutory cap on the government’s so-called debt limit needs to be raised by early November, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday, confirming a recent warning from the administration.

Boehner himself has said that he doesn’t want to leave a “dirty barn” for his successor, comments that have been widely interpreted as a promise that he would try to at least clear away the debt limit issue rather than saddle the next speaker with the task.

“The Speaker has made it clear that he wants to solve some outstanding issues before he leaves. No decisions have been made, but a resolution on the debt ceiling is certainly possible,” said a Boehner spokesperson.

Threats against Boehner from hard-right lawmakers angry over his moves to avert a government shutdown – rather than wage a longshot battle with Democrats over taking away federal funding for Planned Parenthood – led him to announce last month that he will resign at the end of October. That deadline is now in question after Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., dropped out of the race to replace Boehner, leaving no obvious successor other than a reluctant Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.., who is keeping his cards close to his vest.


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