A defiant House Speaker John Boehner said that "there's going to be a negotiation" on the debt ceiling, dismissing President Barack Obama's press conference earlier Tuesday as a request for "unconditional surrender" from Republicans.

Obama signaled Tuesday that he would be open to a deal that would reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling while allowing for negotiations between the two parties.



"The president said today if there's unconditional surrender by Republicans, he'll sit down and talk to us," Boehner said.

"That's not the way our government works."

Boehner's press conference followed a day full of back-and-forths between him and Obama.

Obama phoned Boehner on Tuesday morning, when he said that he wouldn't negotiate with the threat of a shutdown and economic calamity hanging overhead. He repeated that sentiment in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Shortly after Obama's hour-plus-long press conference concluded, Boehner announced a press conference of his own.

His message to Obama: You're going to negotiate.

"The long and short of it is, there's going to be a negotiation," he added.

The federal government shutdown entered into its eighth full day on Tuesday, with no immediate end in sight. And Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 17 — nine days away — to avoid a potential default. Noon on Tuesday marked the halfway point — 8.5 days — between the start of the shutdown and the debt-ceiling deadline.

