The Hill News

Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber's majority whip and a close ally of President Obama, remained noncommittal Wednesday on the tax-cut deal negotiated between the White House and Senate Republicans. But the Illinois Democrat suggested that changes to the proposal might be forthcoming. 

"We need to find out where the members stand," Durbin told reporters Wednesday morning in the Capitol. "Part of it is still a work in progress. Some people have come out for or against it. But from my point of view there are some questions that need to be answered."

{mosads}The proposal, Durbin added later, "included provisions that trouble me greatly, and trouble many members of my caucus. But I understand the dilemma [Obama] faced." 

On Monday, Obama announced the deal to extend temporarily Bush-era tax cuts for incomes of all levels â€" a compromise that angered Democrats both for the policy provisions and the negotiation tactics, which included only Republicans and White House officials.

Durbin defended Obama Wednesday, saying Democrats shouldn't feel excluded because "many" had asked the White House to take the lead on the negotiations.

"In this case, frankly, many leaders in Congress said to the president, 'You reach an agreement; find out what you can do; do your best, and come to us.' So it isn't as if he didn't make an offer [to Democrats] to be inclusive. They basically said, 'You need to lead.' "

Durbin said he hopes the issue will be resolved soon, but didn't offer a timeline.

The majority whip also indicated that, after the four cloture votes scheduled for Wednesday, the Senate could move next to the lingering defense authorization bill, including a provision repealing the Pentagon's contentious "Don't ask, don't tell" policy governing gays serving openly in the military.

Durbin said that several Senate Democrats â€" even some "with families and children" â€" stood up at Tuesday's caucus lunch to announce they're "willing to give up [their] Christmas for this."

"I hope we can do this before we leave," Durbin said.