Vice President Joe Biden — who had remained on the sidelines for much of the negotiations — returned to Washington on Sunday after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) requested it. Democrats are angry at McConnell, believing he’s adopted the “majority of majority” standard Boehner has demanded in the House for the Senate. “We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over,” Mr. Obama said in the interview. Democrats have floated a potential compromise to use a portion of the new revenue and other savings from a cliff deal — a “50/50 split” — to “turn off” the sequester, but it is unclear if GOP leaders will agree to that offer.
– With the fiscal cliff in sight, Democrats and Republicans are no longer talking. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached a "major setback" today over a fairly wonky provision known as "chained CPI," Democratic sources tell Politico. A means of calculating entitlement benefits, CPI is anathema to many liberals because it would give Social Security beneficiaries lower payments. And Democrats say they have made other concessions, like raising taxes only for those earning more than $400,000. McConnell spoke on the Senate floor today, saying Republicans hadn't received a response to their offer from last night, the New York Times reports. Reid responded that Democrats had no counter-offer because they were "apart on some pretty big issues." President Obama said today on Meet the Press that he would accept "chained CPI" but only as part of a bigger deal that includes at least $1.2 trillion in new revenue over a decade. As it stands, Reid and McConnell are cutting a smaller deal to head off certain tax hikes and Medicare cuts, without tackling the deficit or preventing $109 billion in defense and domestic spending cuts slated for this year.