If Reid is successful and the Senate clears the revised continuing resolution, Boehner and House Republicans will then be back in the spotlight. And the speaker may need the support of House Democrats to pass the measure.

It won’t be pretty, but that so-called clean CR could pass the House with roughly 180 Republican votes with the remainder coming from the Democratic side of the aisle, according to senior GOP sources. White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors met with the House Democratic Caucus on Wednesday to walk through government funding scenarios. Although some Democrats are pushing to turn off the sequester as part of any CR deal, White House officials believe they can count on between 40 and 50 Democratic votes for a clean CR at the $986 billion level, giving House leaders enough to reach the key 217 vote level…

House GOP aides expect between 150 and 180 Republicans to eventually support a CR that comes back from the Senate — just enough support to keep Boehner out of hot water.

The nation will be perilously close to a government shutdown, and Boehner and his leadership team — bolstered by a raft of polling — will make the case that a shutdown will cost Republicans their House majority.