Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) tells NRO that he “appreciates” President Obama’s move to extend Bush-era tax rates for two years, calling it a “huge breakthrough” for the president to admit that tax hikes on upper-income rates “hurt the economy.”

DeMint says his GOP colleagues “didn’t get into too much debate” over lunch about the deal, but notes that he is “between a rock and a hard place” about how to move forward, since he is opposed to deficit spending. He will continue to mull the details of the agreement in coming days.