Republicans Attack Obama Bid to Forge Debt ‘Grand Bargain’

The top Senate Republican attacked the credibility of President Barack Obama’s efforts to forge a “grand bargain” of spending cuts and tax increases, saying the president himself was an obstacle to an agreement on the debt.

Senator Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders said Obama is putting an expansion of government ahead of the goal of reaching a bipartisan accord to cut the U.S. deficit. He said Democrats’ “smoke and mirrors” proposals prevented the type of $4 trillion deficit reduction that Obama is seeking.