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By Thomas McKinless and Emma Dumain

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At a news conference Tuesday morning, Speaker John A. Boehner told reporters he wanted to get the budget deal passed before stepping down, smoothing the transition for expected incoming speaker Rep. Paul D. Ryan. “I didn’t want him to walk into a dirty barn full of you-know-what,” Boehner said. Asked about Ryan’s assessment that the process “stinks” in bringing the budget deal to the floor this week, he said, “I agree…but there wasn’t any choice.”

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