A day after being rebuked by his own conference, exposing his feeble control of the House, Speaker John A. Boehner tried to explain away the mutiny and pushed back against the thought that his speakership could be on the line. But he also did not provide any guidance on what comes next, instead repeating the talking points that surfaced from his office Thursday night that it is now the responsibility of the Senate and the White House to act.

After House Republicans refused Boehner’s pleas to vote for his “plan B” tax legislation, the Ohio Republican told reporters Friday that although it is not the outcome he wanted, his members’ defiance was not personal. Instead, he said it was borne of leaders’ inability to convince members that the bill does not constitute a tax increase.