After the Republicans took control of Congress in the 2010 election, Biden was designated as the administration's chief negotiator with congressional Republicans—specifically, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—regarding the Bush tax cuts, which were about to expire. The administration opposed extending Bush tax cuts for the wealthy but also did not want to trigger tax increases for non-wealthy Americans when the economy was continuing to recover from the Great Recession. The result was a deal: "Biden and McConnell hashed out a deal that extended all the Bush tax cuts until after the 2012 election, while injecting another $300 billion as an economic stimulus, including a new payroll tax cut for workers, extended unemployment benefits for victims of the recession and expanded tax credits for college students and the poor. By reopening the Senate, the deal also enabled the historic vote to repeal the ban on gay people in the military."
