McConnell blinks

Behind the scenes: McConnell's decision was in large part driven by Democrats' fresh calls to go nuclear and modify the filibuster — which requires 60 votes to move on major legislation — as they sought to break the debt-limit impasse.

• "The paramount concern here is saving the 60-vote rule, saving the filibuster," a Republican senator told Axios.
• "If you compare the debt ceiling, which is raised frequently, to permanently changing the Senate as an institution, it's not even a close call," the senator added.

What we're hearing: Democrats seem to be leaning toward taking the deal, according to Axios' conversations with senior leadership aides.

• Democratic leaders also delayed Wednesday's scheduled cloture vote on the House-passed bill to suspend the debt limit through December 2022.
• A Schumer aide told Axios "it appears the two sides are nearing an agreement, but the conversations about specifics are ongoing and neither leader has formally said anything, so ..."
• "Either option will provide the Democrats who control Washington with even more time to pass standalone debt limit legislation through reconciliation," a Republican leadership aide said. "These are reasonable paths to avoid default."
• If both sides accept the deal, they'd create more uncertainty at the end of the year. Government funding is also set to expire in December without renewed action.

The big picture: Democrats are already previewing how they'll use the messaging in their favor, while their Republican counterparts are keeping mum.

• “McConnell caved,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters. “And now we're going to spend our time doing child care, health care and fighting climate change.”
• Several Republican senators, including Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), refused to comment on McConnell's offer and whether they'd support a short-term debt ceiling increase.
• They told Axios they wanted to see where the negotiations led before weighing in.

The Republican senators also dodged questions about whether they were frustrated with McConnell's approach.

• Former President Trump, however, was quick to criticize McConnell: “Looks like Mitch McConnell is folding to the Democrats, again," he said in a statement.

The details: McConnell's proposal included two options, which he laid out in a statement on Wednesday.

• One would allow Democrats to fast-track the suspension of the debt limit using the partisan budget reconciliation process.
• The other would raise the limit to a specified figure through December.
• Schumer has already declared that Democrats would not use reconciliation to raise the debt limit.

The backdrop: McConnell has been adamant about keeping the filibuster in place and succeeded in rallying the Senate Republican conference behind him.

• Earlier this year, he warned that his colleagues could not “even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate” would look like without a filibuster.

What they’re saying: "We're working on a compromise so we can deal with the debt ceiling, so that we can be completely focused on getting the president's domestic agenda done," said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).

• Asked if that means a short-term extension, she replied, "Probably."
• “I think changing filibuster rules is a much better path than this, but it’s no secret that it’s going to be hard to get consensus on that in such a short period of time,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
• Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) tweeted critically at McConnell, writing: "Uh ... voting for debt ceiling increase, short term or not, means you're buying it & associated policies ..."