The House has postponed a vote on Speaker John Boehner's "Plan B" bill, which deals with the tax portion of the fiscal cliff.
After passing a measure to thwart automatic cuts on defense spending, the House abruptly went into recess, which NPR's Tamara Keith reports was a signal that the Republicans did not have enough votes to pass the second measure on taxes.
Boehner released a statement on the vote Thursday night:
"The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass. Now it is up to the president to work with Senator Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff. The House has already passed legislation to stop all of the January 1 tax rate increases and replace the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address our nation's crippling debt. The Senate must now act."