Republicans in Congress and the incoming Donald Trump administration are facing an internal battle over the president-elect’s “first 100-day agenda” as senators prepare to push border security and energy production over House GOP calls for a tax bill, CNN reports.
The strife represents “a preview of the landmines looming over the GOP’s ambitious agenda despite controlling all of Washington,” according to CNN.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters Republicans have “a once in a generational opportunity to do a lot of things.”
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“I am not sure everyone is on the same page,” Cornyn cautioned.
The report notes incoming Senate majority leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is causing “deep anger among some senior House members” over his effort to “punt on a tax bill until later in 2025.” Those House Republicans, CNN reports, “warn that waiting on the tax issue could mean killing it altogether.”
“I am worried that everyday Americans will face a tax increase if Congress doesn’t act appropriately,” Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) said. “The president campaigned on it. It’s a priority. They should listen to the 76 million Americans who asked for tax relief.”
As CNN reports, “Top Hill Republicans have spent nearly a year trying to make sure Trump’s first-100-day agenda avoids the fate it had his first term, when his top priority — repealing the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare — failed in dramatic fashion.” Those Republicans, CNN reports, “have been drafting bills and compiling spreadsheets of ideas on how to pay for” the president-elect’s proposed provisions, including Trump's pledge “to not charge taxes on tips.”
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“Meanwhile, the Budget Committee has been focused on options to offset the cost of some of those provisions,” CNN adds.
But as Republicans in the House and Senate spar over which priorities to tackle first, the political realities of those priorities threaten to undermine those goals.
Speaking to CNN, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) warned spending cuts are likely to cause strife among his colleagues.
“My experience has been trying to convince people to cut it, it’s kind of like going to heaven,” Kennedy said. “Everybody’s ready to go to heaven, but nobody’s willing to take the trip.”
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