Republicans are desperate to prove they can get something done in 2017, having repeatedly failed to repeal Obamacare. And Republicans are always desperate to give tax cuts to the wealthy. So that’s the plan: pass a budget resolution that allows them to use reconciliation to pass tax cuts with 51 votes.
"We feel good about where we are," Republican Senator John Thune, a member of the Senate leadership, said. "The level of resolve is pretty high."
After failing to approve Trump-backed legislation to overturn Obamacare, Senate Republicans are under intense pressure to succeed on tax reform, beginning with the budget measure, which would allow tax legislation to add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade to pay for tax cuts.
They’re working hard to brand this package of tax cuts for the wealthy as “tax reform,” but you don’t have to be a genius to know what we’re talking about here:
And as Trump’s treasury secretary previewed the plan, “it’s very hard not to give tax cuts to the wealthy.”