(CNN) - For all the stalemate in the fiscal cliff negotiations, there were some heated moments, too.
A Democratic source familiar with one particular exchange told CNN that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were sitting on a sofa in the White House.
Follow @politicalticker
House Speaker John Boehner breezed in and his first words to Reid were "Go f*** yourself."
Boehner's comment came after Reid took to the Senate floor on Thursday and characterized the House speaker's handling of his chamber as a "dictatorship."
Reid responded to Boehner's confrontational tone by laughing, the Democratic source said, though a GOP source who was there said he didn't think Reid was all that happy.
"The exchange continued, and it didn't get any better for Reid," the GOP source said.
Boehner's office had no comment on the exchange when asked about it Wednesday.
Both men described the moment to members of their caucus.
The exchange happened at the White House on Friday - the day the four Capitol Hill leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - met with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
On Wednesday, after news of the comment emerged, Reid said on the Senate floor that "unlike others behind us in this Capitol, I'm not going to stoop to name calling. I just want people to work and do what they need to do." Politico first reported Boehner's comment.
Hours after the meeting on Friday, he described it as "constructive."
"There was not a lot of hilarity in the meeting, everyone knows how important it is," Reid said. "It was a very serious meeting and it took an extended period of time."
– CNN's Dana Bash and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Gee...how many F-bombs has Biden given us in the last 4 years?
And CNN is making this news?
It's surprising to hear a top level individual in our government use that kind of language... and for a Republican, it's certainly not very Christian. Is he going to go pro-life next or be in favor of gay marriage? What would Mitt say?
Anyone who actually wants the Speaker's job right now is nuts. The GOP is going to implode...in fact it already is imploding, and nobody is going to get out of that mess uninjured. If there is actually a "majority" in the House, it will likely be most Democrats and a few more moderate Republicans with the nerve to buck the caucus. The Speaker can't control the mess, and it's likely more profitable to take up herding cats. The extremists and Grover will just keep doing what they do while the others try to move on.
Instead they both F'd the entire country..........nice going.
GOOD for Boehner atleast he said it in a private meeting unlike Biden on national TV.
The Republican brand is broken, thanks to people like Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, Tea-baggers, etc. The party is far right of the Reagan years. It will take many years to resurrect, Rubio and Christie notwithstanding who may come to the front after 4 Obama, and 8 Hillary. The big question is house control. R had a virtual lock on it with their recent redistricting plan, but Boehner & Co may have screwed that up.
Good job, some one needs to tell that senile old goat Reid off. He thinks he is so witty, unlike Boehner who is pure class. He had it coming, to accused someone of running things like a dictator, like Reid is any better.
If Harry Reid would have let at least one of the house budget bills to the floor, you could say the Republicans were responsible, but Harry refused to bring any budget bills started in the house to the floor to be debated or voted on because he knew that would cause a fillibuster on the floor and he didn't want that. The way I see it, it is the Democratic senate is responsible for the fiscal cliff and the stop gap measures that had to be put in place at the last minute.
Boehner just feels like its fair that he let the middle class have more groceries while his tan suffers.
This man (and I use that term very loosely and probably incorrectly) has got to go. John Boehner has no business leading the majority of anything, much less a political faction. The deeper we go into all these "holes" and the higher these "cliffs" get, I think we can all look back at Boehner and Cantor as the ones who dug the holes and pushed us over the cliff.
Lots of comments critizing CNN for publishing this worthless story! Why, then, did it get more response than any other story so far? How sad that the public gets more excited over the F-Word than the failure to pass Hurricane Sandy Relief!! – @Marita.
Oh dear, Boehner used the "f" word, in a world where I hear it daily in public, and it is not outlawed there. I would imagine there were a lot more inappropriate words exchanged between opposing members of Congress, out of the ear-range of the msm or in whispers between friends and others present. It violated appropriate behavior and decorum at the leadership level. That is surely not even close to as offensive, as voting while you consider your own future election or party before the needs of all Americans, first.
That is very disrespectful not only for the speaker and the Senate Majority leader but for the White House. If Boaehner can't stand the heat and handle it with poise and grace, he is not fit for office and the American people should take note.
This is the right site for everyone who wishes to understand this topic.
You realize a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa).
You definitely put a new spin on a subject which has been written about for decades.
Wonderful stuff, just great!
Boehner's days are numbered. He's had four years to do nothing and run his mouth, hopefully there's only 2 years left of putting up with him and he's out of there along with the rest of the do nothings!
fifth grade schoolyard politics
Boehner's got a lot of class. It's all LOW but he's got a lot of it.
Joe Biden mouthed This is a Big F ing Deal on National TV, and that was no problem. As a matter of fact, Obama's camp made T shirts to that effect for distribution during his campaign.
Gee, I hate to tell all of you, but people, especially men, do sometimes drop F bombs during heated negotiations. I heard that Hilary Clinton dropped an F bomb when Obama triedmto deploy her for Damage Control on Benghazi. Not exactly Obama's lap dog, that Hillary. Susan Rice filled that bill.
Who cares? I wish I'd have been there to see it. Harry Reid has pulled some really weasly stuff, like accusing Mitt
Romney of paying NO taxes for 10 years. Pure propaganda, no evidence whatsoever.
How many people in the U.S. would like to say the exact same thing to Harry Reid? I'm jealous.
How soon we forget that Vice President Joe Biden said the same word to Obama on national television. Stop judging – you weren't in the room...
I think we can forgive Johns bar talk this time. he was under a lot of pressure trying to get his people to do the right thing for a change. Civility would be nice but the results were correct.
Its amazing how this CNN article trys to clean up the fact that the Moron Harry Reid started it by calling Boemer a "dictator" before the f bombs, CNN is a left wing rag.
Warning: If you have a Boehner that lasts more than four years, please consult your polling booth immediately!
You go John...It is about time someone in Washington had the balls to say that and it go public. If it were not for Reid and Pelosi this country would not be where it is today and where it going tomorrow. Reid is a moron and an idiot. His own Chief of Staff admits it when Reid lies about where he gets this nonsense. It is a shame that Nevada voted him back into office this time after the attacks he has made on Republicans for his entire career.
this guy should be removed from office period. He cannot work with anyone. He thinks he is the almighty and what he says goes. there is no empathy from this guy for the American people. He has no heart whatsoever.
If the shoe was on the other foot he would be crying ...