The chances of a US budget deal before the end-of-year deadline are fading, with congressional leaders blaming each other for their failure to reach agreement mere days before new spending cuts and tax rises kick in.
President Barack Obama phoned congressional leaders on Wednesday from Hawaii before cutting short his Christmas break to fly overnight back to Washington in a last-ditch effort to revive talks on the budget.
But his intervention had little immediate impact. Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate Majority leader, took to the Senate floor yesterday to criticise Republicans in the House of Representatives for not returning to the capital to continue talks.
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