U.S. senators and former presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders will square off next week to debate President Donald Trump's tax plan.

Sanders, along with progressive organizations and Democrats, has sharply criticized the plan, calling it "morally repugnant and bad economic policy."

"The last thing we should be doing right now is providing hundreds of billions in tax breaks to the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in this country," the Vermont Independent said following the roll-out of the plan two weeks ago.

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Cruz (R-Texas), who's pushed his own tax plan and has called for pursuing "unapologetic tax cuts," deemed Trump's proposal "incredibly encouraging." He also said it has "numerous positive elements," including its repeal of the estate tax. That proposal would offer a tax break to the wealthiest Americans and was named (pdf) by one progressive group as one of the six worst elements of the proposal.

Trump, for his part, will spend part of Wednesday in Pennsylvania to pitch his tax proposal. Protests have already begun.

The town hall-style event airs Oct. 18 at 9pm ET, and will be moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. It won't be the first such event for the senators, as they took part in a CNN town hall debate in February on Obamacare.