Midnight in the Capitol: ‘Finally,’ a deal

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Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said he considered the whole exercise a three-hour distraction from an urgently needed resolution of the crisis.

Back to the bargaining table on Capitol Hill.

Congressional negotiators agreed to limit the talks to a Republican and a Democrat from each chamber, as well as Paulson and their staffs. The group worked until 3 a.m. Saturday, then broke for 12 hours. Bush talked Saturday with Pelosi and other lawmakers and also huddled with Paulson.

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Negotiators and their staffs reconvened in Pelosi's conference room just off the Rotunda around 4 p.m. Saturday.

The initial meeting quickly became unwieldy. More than three dozen people, including lawmakers, Paulson and their aides were crammed into Pelosi's suite, according to interviews with several participants. One person who was there counted 27 congressional aides in the negotiations.

Staff BlackBerrys were collected in a wastebasket to prevent details of the talks from being leaked to reporters.

Tempers flared. Several officials said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., yelled at Paulson at one point over the administration's reluctance to restrict "golden parachutes" — huge severance packages — for executives at the troubled companies.

"Sen. Baucus was expressing himself aggressively," Gregg confirmed in an interview.

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The crowd split into working groups. Paulson, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and Gregg set up camp in House Republican Leader John Boehner's suite nearby. Democrats, including Dodd, House campaign chief Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota — came by to negotiate, Gregg said.

Pizza, burgers and salads were ordered. Someone complained that the nearest toilet was clogged.

Elsewhere in Washington, Obama and McCain were updated on the progress. The Democratic candidate received an award in the evening from the Congressional Black Caucus. McCain and his wife, Cindy, dined with Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Lieberman's wife, Hadassah, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at the tony Mandarin Oriental hotel.