If it weren't so serious, the political maneuvering taking place in Washington, DC, right now would look like a theatrical farce. Or a Hallmark channel melodrama.

The general plot: a drop-dead deadline approaches before disaster strikes on Thursday, Oct. 17, while business as usual is on recess. Some members of the opposing parties have been working feverishly to get a deal done in time, but one group within one of the negotiating parties announces Tuesday afternoon it has a new plan, which stalls the other negotiations, leaving everything in place.

That same group with the new plan schedules a vote for Tuesday night, then cancels it because it doesn't have the votes to pass the plan. It's as if everyone were running in circles. And the clock keeps ticking.

But just before noon on Wednesday The New York Times reports that a bipartisan deal on the debt limit and government shutdown has been reached, with votes to follow in the House and Senate as early as this afternoon.

Related: How Big Business Could End the Shutdown Overnight

Here's some background:

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said the U.S. will lose its authority to issue new debt as of October 17. The Treasury Department announces Tuesday it will have only $35 billion in cash on hand by Thursday to pay its bills, which is a pittance in a$16 trillion economy with about $12 trillion outstanding in public debt.

Meanwhile Fitch Ratings, a credit rating agency, that until now has maintained a AAA rating on U.S. debt--unlike S&P--put that rating on negative watch, preparing for a downgrade if Congress cannot reach agreement. And a Treasury 3-month bill auction Tuesday afternoon went badly, setting a rate of 0.13%, which seems low but is actually the highest for a 3-month bill auction since February 2011, with demand about 30% less than the average of the past 10 auctions.

Related: Debt Deadline Approaches: Here's What Would Happen If U.S. Defaults

Robert Reich, who was Bill Clinton's Labor Secretary the last time the government shut down in late 1995 and early 1996, tells The Daily Ticker, that the atmosphere in Washington now " is the worst it's been in anybody's memory."

Speaking with Aaron Task before Boehner canceled the vote on the latest House plan Tuesday afternoon, Reich said, "There is a serious risk now of a default"--something he was not expecting just days before.

"It's not the old game of Democrats and Republicans," says Reich, in the video above. "You've got a minority of very extreme right-wing Republicans who are willing to sacrifice the full faith and credit of the United States to get their way."