Trump Battles Establishment Republicans, Democrats To Enable Tax Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump is urging Senate Republicans to pass a budget resolution that would lower the bar a larger budget agreement including tax reform would have to clear to pass the chamber.

From the New York Post:

President Trump was optimistic that the Senate has enough votes to pass​ a crucial budget resolution that would pave the way for his much-touted tax reform plan.

​”​Republicans are going for the big Budget approval today, first step toward massive tax cuts. I think we have the votes, but who knows?​,” ​Trump tweeted on Thursday.

The Senate takes up the resolution on Thursday.

If passed, it would let Republicans, who control the chamber by a 52-48 margin, to use a ​legislative tool called reconciliation that allows them to pass legislation with a simple majority of 51 votes.

Without it, GOP senators would need to garner 60 votes to pass tax reform – making passage of any plan a difficult prospect because they would have to draw support from their Democratic colleagues.

​The Trump administration said tax cuts will benefit middle class families and spur economic growth.

But Democrats said ​the cuts would largely benefit the nation’s wealthiest.

Of course, Democrats will complain that tax cuts benefit the wealthy in their constant ploy to introduce class warfare to any tax reform discussion. They purposely avoid the fact that any tax cuts necessarily must benefit “the wealthy” because the top half of income earners pay virtually ALL of the taxes.

But leave it to Establishment Republican Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) to throw cold water on tax reform efforts by calling the Senate Budget Resolution “a hoax.” Luckily, Corker said he will vote for the resolution in order to trigger reconciliation.

For some reason Beltway Republicans are always scared to use all the tools at their disposal to accomplish the agenda voters put them in office to achieve, while Democrats never shy away from bending and breaking rules in order to ram leftist policy down the American people’s throats.

Trump, who isn’t scared of a fight, wants to pull put all stops in order to finally usher legislation through an heretofore incapable Congress.

With any luck, reconciliation will be triggered and tax reform can move closer to relieving the American people of an outrageous tax burden that punishes success and redistributes income in a distinctly un-American way.