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Razor-thin! Senate votes on major tax bill in the wee hours, President Trump takes first victory lap!

December 20, 2017 | | Print Article

The Senate passed the GOP tax reform bill in the wee hours of Wednesday morning by a razor-thin vote of 51 to 48. Not a single Democrat voted to reduce taxes.

President Trump is on his way to scoring his first major legislative victory — before Christmas, just as he had hoped. But there’s a tiny glitch. (see update below).

The House will have to vote on it again today, thanks to the arcane “Byrd rule.” Per CNN:

Byrd rules only apply to legislation that’s being passed through a process known as budget reconciliation. Reconciliation allows the Senate to pass a bill with just a simple majority (51 votes) and bypass a filibuster, but the process has a strict set of rules.

Under reconciliation, Republicans have to prove that everything they are including in their tax reform bill has an impact on the budget and not just an “incidental” one.

The Senate took out a couple of provisions in the House bill, including one that had allowed the use of tax-free college savings accounts for home-school expenses, and another modifying the criteria for whether the endowments of private universities are subject to the GOP bill’s new excise tax.

[UPDATE: The House approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act early Wednesday afternoon. In a 224-201 vote, Congress sent the $1.5 trillion package to President Trump’s desk for approval.]

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But these modifications were expected, and the bill is expected to be easily pass the House again.

President Trump took an early victory lap on Twitter at 1:09 AM, saying he plans to hold a news conference today after the final House vote.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/943362605258813441

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/943543958730309633

As with everything President Trump does, Democrats and the media fomented mass hysteria, claiming the GOP tax reform bill will only benefit corporations and the rich while leaving the middle class out in the cold. Trump has repeatedly said the bill was specifically designed to help the middle class.

The sweeping GOP tax reform bill reduces the income tax rates for individuals and small businesses. It also cuts corporate tax rates — a move that’s expected to keep American businesses from moving abroad.

As usual, Twitter hilariously summed up liberal hysteria surrounding the tax bill.

https://twitter.com/BasedMonitored/status/943212048820965376

https://twitter.com/FiveRights/status/943430308116025346

https://twitter.com/Tombx7M/status/943242200820932613

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Samantha Chang
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