Today’s the day. This afternoon, President Trump may achieve his biggest victory to date. The House and Senate are poised to vote on sweeping tax reform legislation, the first of its kind since Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
Jake Sherman of Politico reports:
The House plans to vote on tax reform early this afternoon — around 130-2.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 19, 2017
A final deal was reached last Friday by Senate Republicans. The tax package will not only cut rates, particularly the rate for corporations, but will close various loopholes and repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan hyped the upcoming vote by posting a retro C-SPAN video showing the young congressman blasting the U.S. tax code for being too complex and burdensome on business.
Today has been a moment decades in the making. Let's get it done. pic.twitter.com/abuqrCEMPb
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) December 19, 2017
The President himself also anticipated the upcoming vote, promising that the bill would create jobs:
Stocks and the economy have a long way to go after the Tax Cut Bill is totally understood and appreciated in scope and size. Immediate expensing will have a big impact. Biggest Tax Cuts and Reform EVER passed. Enjoy, and create many beautiful JOBS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2017
This is going to be a huge accomplishment for both congressional Republicans and President Trump.
For decades, Republicans have preached the power of tax cuts. They have given thousands of speeches, decrying the size of the current tax code, advocating for lower rates and fewer loopholes.
Now, Republicans can turn all that rhetoric into reality. And it all comes down to today’s vote.
As Robert Novak once said, “God put the Republican Party on earth to cut taxes. If they don’t do that, they have no useful function.”
Today’s vote will represent the existential reason for the Republican Party. It’s really that do-or-die.
The stakes are also high for another reason. Failure on this initiative will doom the party going into the 2018 elections. Over the summer, Republicans failed in pathetic fashion to repeal Obamacare.
Right now, Republicans have no big accomplishments to point to as a reason for voters keeping them in office. President Trump has done numerous things unilaterally: practically defeated ISIS, substantially cut government regulation, and pulling out of the fraudulent Paris climate agreement. But these actions were done solely by the president.
Congressional Republicans desperately need a win. And taxes are one of the few policies that they can actually win on.
Let’s hope Republicans get the job done.
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