Top GOP Senators: Tax Hikes Can't Pass

Reuters reports:

The top two Republicans in Senate said on Thursday that Democrats' demands for new stimulus measures and tax increases run counter to the goals of a deal that would reduce budget deficits and would not pass Congress.

"President Obama needs to decide between his goal of higher taxes, or a bipartisan plan to address our deficit," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his deputy, Senator Jon Kyl, said in a joint statement.

Kyl has withdrawn from deficit-reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden, according to an aide, following the lead of his fellow Republican, Representative Eric Cantor.