Trump celebrates 'biggest tax cuts in history' after Republicans' push $1.5 TRILLION bill - that the Democrats said they did not have time to read - through the Senate
- President Trump celebrated the victory on Twitter five hours after it passed
- The Senate approved a sweeping tax overhaul at 1.51am on Saturday
- Vote passed by 51-49 as Democrats voted in bloc and one Republican opposed
- Vice President Mike Pence announced passage at 1.51am to a round of applause
- Final alterations to the bill were still being made late in the evening on Friday
- Democrats claimed they didn't have time to read bill and tried to adjourn vote
- They say tax overhaul will add $1.5 trillion to national debt over 10 years
- Republicans insisted changes will be revenue-neutral as tax cuts spur growth
- Trump said Saturday at a fundraiser in NYC 'we got no Democrat help and I think that's going to cost them very big in the election'
President Donald Trump celebrated on Twitter on Saturday morning after the Republican's dramatic tax reform victory in the Senate overnight.
Shortly
before 8am, he rejoiced: 'Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just
passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for
final passage.
'Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!'
An
hour later, he celebrated them outside the White House before jetting
off to New York City to attend a Republican fundraising dinner where he
basked further in the win with a speech.
At
1.51am on Saturday, the Senate dramatically approved the $1.5trillion
bill which Democrats cried foul over, claiming they did not have time to
read it before the votes were cast.
It
was passed with a vote of 51-49 vote moves the GOP and President Donald
Trump a major step closer to slashing taxes for businesses and the rich
in a bid to re-ignite the economy while offering everyday Americans
more modest changes.
Trump was still up when the decision was announced at around 2am and he tweeted then too.
A triumphant President Trump is
pictured outside The White House on Saturday morning after the tax bill
was passed. He described it as 'one of the big nights' and used the
victory to try to dodge questions about disgraced National Security
Adviser Michael Flynn
The
president returned to Twitter shortly before 8am on Saturday to
celebrate the Republicans' tax victory in the Senate hours earlier
'We
are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families
across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and
Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate.
'Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!' he said.
On
Saturday, as he spoke at the fundraiser at New York's Cipriani
restaurant, protesters lined the streets outside to revolt against the
decision.
They carried signs labeling it a 'GOP Tax Scam' and said the cuts would destroy education.
During his speech Saturday he said: 'We got no Democrat help and I think that's going to cost them very big in the election.
'Because, basically, they voted against tax cuts.'
And he explained why he preferred using the words 'tax cuts' instead of 'tax reform'.
'For years, I said I wonder why they use the word reform,' Trump said.
'Because
nobody knows what reform means. Reform could mean your taxes are going
up. And I said to my guys. I called everybody and we had a meeting.
Senators, Congress, everybody. I said we have to use the word tax
cuts.'
Trump spoke again of the victory at a Republican fundraising breakfast at Cipriani's in New York later
Vice
President Mike Pence announced the bill's passage at 1.51am to a round
of rapturous applause from Republicans after a marathon voting session.
The
Democrats, who voted in bloc, said the largest US tax overhaul since
1986 will help the rich at the expense of the middle class and add
$1.5trillion over 10 years to the $20trillion national debt.
They
were joined by deficit hawk Bob Corker of Tennessee, the only
Republican to oppose the bill. 'Obviously I'm kind of a dinosaur on the
fiscal issues,' said Corker.
The event was dogged with protesters who lined the streets in costume and with signs
The NYPD was forced to set up barricades to control the crowds outside Cipriani's during the breakfast
The scene outside the well-known restaurant in Manhattan as Trump spoke inside
But other Republicans insisted the changes will be revenue-neutral as tax cuts spur employment and growth.
After
the vote, Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority
leader, called it 'a great day for the country' and said: 'I'm totally
confident this is a revenue-neutral bill'.
The
bill was almost scuppered by a push from Schumer to delay the vote
until Monday as Democrats complained the bill was scrawled with
last-minute changes and printed in small font.
Several posted photos of the bill on Twitter and accused the GOP of being irresponsible and devious.
President Trump took to Twitter in the early hours of Saturday morning to thank the Republicans in the Senate
Majority leader Mitch McConnell
is pictured confidently walking from his office to the Senate chamber
late on Friday night to begin the vote
Senate Minority Leader Charles
Schumer tried to push the Democratic vote till Monday to give the
lawmakers a chance to read the 500-page, small print bill with illegible
hand written notes
Sen. Bob Menedez shared tweaks the Democrats had to decipher before the senate begins asking for amendments
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of
Montana posted a video of him holding the bill on Twitter and said 'one
page literally has hand-scribbled policy changes on it that can't be
read'
| Income group | Changes in 2019 | Changes in 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than $10,000 | 4% of people in group get tax cut | 1% get tax cut; 2% pay more | |
| $10,000 to 20,000 | 38% get tax cut | 3% get tax cut; 27% pay more | |
| $20,000 to 30,000 | 45% get tax cut | 5% get tax cut; 22% pay more | |
| $30,000 to 40,000 | 61% get tax cut | 9% get tax cut; 21% pay more | |
| $40,000 to 50,000 | 72% get tax cut | 12% get tax cut; 21% pay more | |
| $50,000 to 75,000 | 81% get tax cut | 14% get tax cut; 26% pay more | |
| $75,000 to 100,000 | 84% get tax cut | 22% get tax cut; 20% pay more | |
| $100,000 to 200,000 | 64% get tax cut | 32% get tax cut; 30% pay more | |
| $200,000 to 500,000 | 85% get tax cut | 43% get tax cut; 40% pay more | |
| $500,000 to 1 million | 91% get tax cut | 58% get tax cut; 37% pay more | |
| More than $1 million | 80% get tax cut | 61% get tax cut; 39% pay more | |
| Source: Joint Committee on Taxation |
Sen.
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted: 'No, I haven't had time to
read the 500-page #GOPTaxScam bill that we're voting on tonight,' with a
photo of her reading aloud from pages at her desk. 'Couldn't read it if
I tried - and I did.'
Democratic
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said 'one page literally has hand-scribbled
policy changes on it that can't be read. This is Washington, D.C. at its
worst. Montanans deserve so much better.'
Some Democrats were furious that the vote was even taking place at night.
Oregon
Senator Ron Wyden said on the Senate floor: 'Millions of Americans must
be watching in stunned disbelief tonight as the Republican Senate
betrays the middle class for the benefit of faceless multinational
corporations. What is happening tonight is the worst of the United
States Senate.'
Democrats blasted
Republicans arguing they were trying to rush the legislation through the
Senate without giving lawmakers a chance to read it.
Schumer
pushed a motion to delay until Monday saying: 'Because the bill was
given to lobbyists to read and change before senators saw it, and
because the bill was given to us on a few hours' notice and has not been
read fully or considered fully by a single senator, I move we adjourn
until Monday so we can first read and then clean up this awful piece of
legislation.'
But Senators voted 48-52
on the motion to adjourn and fell short of simple majority needed to
stall the legislation. A few hours later the bill passed and Republicans
were celebrating.
The bill was almost scuppered by a push from Schumer (pictured on Friday) to delay the vote until Monday
Soon
after the vote was announced, Mike Pence tweeted: Tonight's tax cut
vote in the Senate was a historic victory for the American people.
Grateful for the support of @SenateGOP for passing @POTUS' 'middle-class
miracle' for millions of hard-working families. On track to have POTUS
sign the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act into law by Christmas!'
Tax
reform gives Trump and his Republicans their first major legislative
achievement of 2017, despite controlling the White House, the Senate and
the House since he took office in January.
In
getting the bill through the Senate, they succeeded where they failed
earlier this year, when their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
collapsed.
This time, urged on by
donors and fearful of facing voters in next year's midterm elections
without a legislative achievement to show, Republicans said time and
again that failure was not an option.
Republicans want to add almost
$1.5 trillion over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance
changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy
Bob Corker of Tennessee, the
only Republican to oppose the bill. 'Obviously I'm kind of a dinosaur on
the fiscal issues,' said Corker
'The American people wanted change,' said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). 'We were able to deliver.'
Wisconsin
Republican and House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement: 'We will
move quickly to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to
President Trump's desk.'
US stock
markets have rallied for months at the prospect of a corporation tax cut
as the bill reduces the rate from 35 to 20 per cent.
The
bill focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning
individuals, gives more modest breaks to others and offers the boldest
rewrite of the nation's tax system since 1986.
Republicans
touted the package as one that would benefit people of all incomes and
ignite the economy. Even an official projection of a $1 trillion,
10-year flood of deeper budget deficits couldn't dissuade GOP senators
from rallying behind the bill.
Majority
Mitch McConnell declared 'We have the votes,' earlier Friday evening,
after leaders swayed holdout senators by agreeing to fatten tax breaks
for millions of businesses and let people deduct local property taxes.
Republican
leaders engaged in eleventh-hour negotiations with GOP holdout senators
to meet their demands and secure their support for the bill that's a
political imperative for Trump and the party.
They
had rounds of closed-door meetings and were drafting the revised bill
text up to the time they assembled on the Senate floor in advance of the
vote.
In 2010, Republicans argued that Democrats hadn't read the massive health care bill before voting for its passage.
Democrats slammed a provision in the bill designed to give a special tax break to a conservative college in Michigan.
The
party also said the tax break was designed to help just one
politically-connected school: Hillsdale College in southern Michigan.
Democrats were furious an
extension to vote ont the massive, 500-page, tax bill only hours before
would not happen, as Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar tweets
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden
(pictured in the days before the vote) said on the Senate floor:
'Millions of Americans must be watching in stunned disbelief tonight'
'I
can't find anybody else in America who benefits from this particular
provision. That doesn't strike me as right,' said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
'There are so many deserving schools in Oregon and Pennsylvania and
elsewhere who don't get this special treatment.'
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said, 'It feels like this is a very limited provision written for a very special person.'
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., acknowledged he sponsored the language and Hillsdale College would benefit from it.
Leaders'
changes last night included helping millions of companies whose owners
pay individual, not corporate, taxes on their profits by allowing
deductions of 23 percent, up from 17.4 percent. That helped win over
Wisconsin's Johnson and Steve Daines of Montana.
People
would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, a demand of
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. That matched a House provision that
chamber's leaders included to keep some GOP votes from high-tax states
like New York, New Jersey and California.
The
changes added nearly $300 billion to the tax bill's costs. To pay for
that, leaders reduced the number of high-earners who must pay the
alternative minimum tax, rather than completely erasing it. They also
increased a one-time tax on profits U.S.-based corporations are holding
overseas and would require firms to keep paying the business version of
the alternative minimum tax.
Sen. Jeff
Flake, R-Ariz. - who like Corker had been a holdout and has sharply
attacked Trump's capabilities as president - voted for the bill. He said
he'd received commitments from party leaders and the administration 'to
work with me' to restore protections, dismantled by Trump, for young
immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. That seemed
short of a pledge to actually revive the safeguards.
The
Senate bill would drop the highest personal income tax rate from 39.6
percent to 38.5 percent. The estate tax levied on a few thousand of the
nation's largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer.
Deductions
for state and local income taxes, moving expenses and other items would
vanish, the standard deduction - used by most Americans - would nearly
double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, and the
per-child tax credit would grow.
The
bill would abolish the 'Obamacare' requirement that most people buy
health coverage or face tax penalties. Industry experts say that would
weaken the law by easing pressure on healthier people to buy coverage,
and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the move would
push premiums higher and leave 13 million additional people uninsured.
Drilling
would be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another
provision, knocked out because it violated Senate budget rules, would
have explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings
accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which
anti-abortion forces wanted to inscribe into law. There were also breaks
for the wine, beer and spirits industries, Alaska Natives and aircraft
management firms.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin wasn't amused to have to read and process the $1.4trillion tax bill read now ahead of him
