President Obama is expected to formally order sweeping spending cuts to take effect today after repeated failures by lawmakers to reach a deal averting the sequester. Obama is meeting this morning with congressional leaders, but a last-minute deal is not expected. The Senate on Thursday rejected two proposals brought by each party to address the cuts before today’s deadline. The plan backed by Obama would have closed a tax loophole benefiting the wealthy, among other provisions, while the Republican plan would have compelled Obama to determine how to make $85 billion in cuts. White House spokesperson Jay Carney criticized the Republican proposal.

Jay Carney: “What’s true about that proposal is true with the general Republican position, which is that they would rather see sequester take effect, with its job loss, with its negative effect on economic growth, than ask a single wealthy individual to pay a little bit more, to give up a special tax break, to ask some big corporations or industries to forgo their loopholes or limit their deductions. And that’s just not a position that is sustainable, we believe, and it’s not fair to the American people.”

One of the most direct impacts on federal employees will be forced furloughs, which are not expected to hit for at least 30 days pending union talks. Obama described the more immediate impact of the cuts during a business event on Wednesday.

President Obama: “This is not a cliff, but it is a tumble downward. It’s conceivable that in the first week, the first two weeks, first three weeks, first month, that unless your business is directly related to the Defense Department, unless you live in a town that is directly impacted by a military installation, unless you’re a family that now is trying to figure out where to keep your kids during the day because you just lost a Head Start slot, a lot of people may not notice the full impact of the sequester. But this is going to be a big hit on the economy.”