Most observers see a clean hike by the House as the only way out, and they think Boehner’s decision to resign as Speaker was a sign of his intentions.

“Boehner took the bullet for the good of the party,” said Steve Bell, senior director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Senate GOP staffer.

Bell also thinks Boehner could win more votes to raise the debt ceiling than the 18 members who stuck with him in 2014.

“I think he’s got at least 50 to 70 members who will really go with him,” Bell said.

At the end of September, Congress passed a funding bill to keep the government open that did not meet conservative demands to bar funds for Planned Parenthood.

Most Republicans balked at the measure, but Boehner did draw 91 Republican votes.