"In the end, we couldn't connect. Not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country," Boehner wrote in a letter to fellow Republicans.
Boehner said that "a deal was never reached, and was never really close."
"For these reasons, I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward," he wrote.
Speaking to reporters soon after news of Boehner's decision broke, a visibly frustrated Obama said that he has told the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress to come to the White House on Saturday morning to "explain to me how we are going to avoid default" on the nation's debt.
The president said his administration had offered "an extraordinarily fair deal" to cut expenditures and raise revenues, in return for Congress agreeing to hikethe nation's debt ceiling. But he said that Boehner "left (him) at the altar" by ending negotiations around 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said that he found it "disappointing that the talks with the White House (and Republicans) did not reach a favorable conclusion," even as he welcomed the news that the debt-ceiling discussions would be decided in Congress.
"It's time now for the debate to move out of a room in the White House and on to the House and Senate floors where we can debate the best approach to reducing the nation's unsustainable debt," he said in a statement.
Read more: Yahoo
