The ‘fiscal cliff’: Meet the key players

With the election behind them, Obama and lawmakers have turned their attention to the fiscal cliff. Here’s a look at some of the leaders who will influence whether the country can avoid falling off the cliff.

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President Obama

Obama is ready to play hardball, his allies say. He’s prepared to veto legislation to block the “fiscal cliff” unless Republicans allow the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for those making more than $250,000 a year, the White House says. Because he won reelection, the president may be able to dictate the terms of a bipartisan debt-reduction deal, The Washington Post’s Lori Montgomery reports.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Dave Cote, Honeywell chief executive

Cote has been one of the more vocal corporate chieftains on fiscal cliff issues. The Honeywell chief executive is part of the nonpartisan Fix the Debt campaign, which is pushing not just to avoid the fiscal cliff, but to find a major deficit-reduction plan that includes tax increases and spending cuts.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg News

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio)

Boehner and other Republican leaders want to extend Bush-era tax cuts for at least another year. In an October column, Boehner said, “We won’t have economic growth if we raise taxes on small businesses, the engine of private-sector job creation in our country.” Boehner has referred to Obama’s veto threat as a “Thelma and Louise” economic strategy.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

Geithner will play a critical role as the Obama administration seeks to negotiate a deal to prevent the country from falling off the fiscal cliff. In September, Geithner repeated Obama’s demand for higher taxes on the wealthy in separate meetings with Boehner and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), according to aides in both parties.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), House Ways and Means Committee chairman

Camp is likely to be part of any further negotiations on the fiscal cliff. In September, Camp met with Geithner, who repeated Obama’s demand for higher taxes on the wealthy.

Katherine Frey / The Washington Post

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), fourth-ranking Democrat in Senate

Murray has vowed to go over the fiscal cliff without an agreement on taxes. In July, Murray said she would rather push the debt debate into next year rather than reach a deal "that throws middle-class families under the bus."

Ted S. Warren / AP

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.)

Close to Tea Party Republicans, Cantor is more skeptical of cooperation with the White House on taxes.

Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.)

Reid wants to raise taxes on high-income earners. He told reporters in September that he doesn’t believe the country will go over the fiscal cliff, but he wants a long-term solution to bring down the country’s deficit, not a short-term deal.

Jim Young / Reuters

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Senate Finance Committee chairman

Baucus has been holding meetings with key economic leaders including Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke as he works on a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Like Boehner, McConnell wants to see Bush-era tax cuts extended. As for the automatic spending cuts, McConnell said in an October news release, “We need to find a way to deal with the sequester not by cutting a penny less, but by intelligently making the decisions that are necessary to keep our promise to reduce the debt by $2.1 trillion and to get our economy back on track.”

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), House Budget Committee chairman

The former vice-presidential candidate could be a key figure in influencing Republican strategy. Ryan supports an aggressive overhaul of entitlements.

Eric Thayer / Reuters

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

The former House speaker is likely to be part of any fiscal cliff negotiations. In September, Pelosi told her fellow members of Congress that “the reason we have a problem here is because our Republican colleagues have refused to have one red cent from the wealthiest people in our country contribute to resolving this fiscal crisis, this budget crisis, not one red cent.”

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

“Gang of Eight”

A bipartisan group of senators, informally known as the “Gang of Eight,” is seen as an adjunct to the negotiations on the fiscal cliff. Clockwise from top left: Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.),

“Gang of Eight”

The group met in early October to take a shot at crafting an expansive deficit-reduction deal that would allow the country to avoid the looming tax hikes and automatic spending cuts. Although no breakthroughs came out of the meeting, there’s a chance that whatever new bargain they come up with could have an impact on future negotiations by setting new goal posts for the parties.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Jack Lew, White House chief of staff

Lew is the budget expert who is likely to be a principal negotiator.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A protestor in a Guy Fawkes mask walks past razor wire outside a security perimeter of the G-8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on Monday, June 17, 2013. The summit is taking place under heavy security, with some 7,000 police lining roads and checking vehicles. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

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Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

U.S. actress Sandra Bullock poses for the media during a photocall to promote her latest move 'The Heat' in Berlin June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

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A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 16: Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Miss USA 2013

Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady is crowned Miss USA 2013 in Las Vegas.

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