President Obama

A representative for the White House suggested to the Huffington Post Wednesday that the Obama administration would temporarily extend the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year.

The cuts will apply across the board to all income earners, including the wealthy.

David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the President, said this was the only way to ensure that the middle-class will still be granted tax cuts considering the obstacles Obama will face after last week’s electoral losses.

"I don't want to trade away security for the middle class in order to make that point,” Axelrod said.

On Thursday, he denied that the Obama administration would cave on the cuts.

GOP leaders required Democrats to extend the tax cuts for all levels of income after Democrats tried to extend the cuts permanently for those earning less than $250,000 and temporarily for those earning more than $250,000.

Some analysts interpret the move by Democrats this way: since Republicans will not cave into a compromise, the Obama administration caved in to meet their demands in order to ensure cuts for the middle-class.

The White House is denying that interpretation.

According to White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, “We believe we need to extend the middle class tax cuts, we cannot afford to borrow 700 billion to pay for extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and we are open to compromise and are looking forward to talking to the Congressional leadership next week to discuss how to move forward.”

To reach reporter Marlise Knechtle click here.