Congressional Websites Crash After Obama's Debt Ceiling Speech

David Beard, National Journal

When President Obama told Americans to contact their representatives to show support for his debt-ceiling plan, the response was so strong it knocked out several websites for leading GOP House members.

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National Journal checks at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. of websites for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., showed a "Server is too busy" response on an otherwise blank screen. Boehner’s separate representative site was down, also, though the district and House Majority Leader sites of Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., were working.

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Democrats were affected, too. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., tweeted that his site was struggling but that he was responding to constituents via Twitter. Coons wasn't alone: Boehner was among members of Congress tweeting after the back-to-back prime-time speeches by Obama and the House speaker.

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Republicans and Democrats have issued rival plans to raise the nation’s debt ceiling before August 2, when the Treasury Department has said the government would be unable to pay all its bills.