During a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday, top ranking Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York offered this assessment of Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) debt ceiling plan:

The speaker’s plan is on life support, and it’s time for him to pull the plug. We need to move on to other plans that actually have a chance of passing.

The assessment is ironic, considering only two plans have actually been submitted: Boehner’s version and that belonging to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The White House has refused to offer its own alternative.

Boehner’s plan faces the hurdle of passing the House and then making it through a Democratic-controlled Senate, true. But Reid’s plan faces the same challenge. Senate Republicans could filibuster his plan and House Republicans could block it entirely.

So where do we go from here? No one is certain. Later today, the House will hold a vote on Boehner’s weak proposal and it’s expected to pass. But with all Senate Democrats pledging to block the legislation, Boehner’s plan is unlikely to become law in its present form.