Politico reports that “nearly all the major players” in the fiscal cliff negotiations believe a deal is “virtually impossible before the New Year.”

“Unlike the bank bailout in 2008, the tax deal in 2010 and the debt ceiling in 2011, the Senate almost certainly won’t swoop in and help sidestep a potential economic calamity… With the country teetering on this fiscal cliff of deep spending cuts and sharp tax hikes, the philosophical differences, the shortened timetable and the political dynamics appear to be insurmountable hurdles for a bipartisan deal by New Year’s Day.”

The New York Times notes that with just days left “before the fiscal punch lands, both sides are exhibiting
little sense of urgency, and new public statements Wednesday appeared to
be designed more to ensure the other side is blamed rather than to
foster progress toward a deal.”

House Republican leaders said the U.S. Senate needs to act first on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff, Politico reports, “hinting they would not bring the House back into session until Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) moves something through his chamber.”

Washington Post: “The move comes just days after these same GOP leaders failed to secure the Republican votes for Boehner’s ‘Plan B’, which would have extended the expiring tax cuts on all income up to $1 million and modified the pending across-the-board cuts to agency budgets by sparing the Pentagon. The statement did not include any guidance as to what measures the House could accept and did not indicate when Boehner would call the House back into session.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports the Treasury said the government “would hit its legal borrowing limit by
Monday, setting in motion emergency measures to keep the government
operating for several more weeks.”

A new Gallup poll finds Americans are rapidly becoming more pessimistic about reaching a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, with public opinion swinging 15 points in less than a week.

Just 50% of Americans now think it’s likely a deal will be struck, while 48% think it’s unlikely.

The Washington Post reports President Obama will cut short his vacation and return from Hawaii on Wednesday in a last ditch effort to restart budget talks with House Republicans.

Wonk Wire: The grand bargain is dead.