WASHINGTON, DC — Tucked in Republicans' massive tax cut bill are provisions that have little to do with taxes — one that opens more than 1 million acres of the frozen tundra of Alaska for oil and gas exploration, another that ends the Obama-era mandate that most Americans have health insurance or pay a tax penalty, and others that play well with the religious right.



And unless those provisions are cut as the House and Senate reconcile the Tax Cuts and Jobs Security Act, which the Senate passed early Saturday morning on a 41-49 vote, they'll change policy without public debate. The first overhaul of the tax code in three decades, though wildly unpopular with the voting public, is expected to land on President Trump's desk before Christmas. Trump is expected to sign the tax bill, making it his first legislative victory since taking office in January.

Opposition to the tax bill is growing among Americans and now nearly half of voters oppose it, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week. It showed 49 percent of people who were aware of the tax bill opposed it, up from 41 percent in October. More than half of the 1,257 adults surveyed who knew about the bill said it would primarily benefit the wealthy and large U.S. corporations, 14 percent said it would benefit "all Americans," 6 percent said it would benefit the middle class and 2 percent said it would primarily benefit lower-income Americans. The poll found that 22 percent said they "don't know" the bill's provisions. A Politico/Morning Consult tracking poll found that Republican support for the tax plan dropped to 59 percent from 66 percent; opposition grew to 12 percent from 9 percent; and those undecided increased to 28 percent from 25 percent.

Of course, no tax bill will satisfy everyone and "there are always winners and losers and people who will pay more and benefit less," Scott Talan, an assistant professor of public and strategic communication at American University and former political reporter told Patch. Though some in their states may suffer, "the one big thing Republicans tend to care about is doing something," Talan said, explaining that absent a victory on top agenda items, Republicans with a majority in both chambers of Congress and the presidency could face scorn from voters in the 2018 midterm elections because "nothing got done."

Even with a legislative win, Republicans are still vulnerable in the midterms among low- and middle-income Americans who voted for the first time in the 2016 election who may feel betrayed by the bill, Talan said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expects Americans to warm to the tax bill once they fully understand it.

"Can you think of any major legislation passed in the last 10 years that was popular? Remember how unpopular Obamacare was," McConnell told Politico. "If [tax reform], in conjunction with regulatory relief, gets the country growing more rapidly and creates more jobs and opportunity, I think that will answer the skeptics." Those keeping a scorecard on who loses under the the the losers are Americans in high-tax states like California, New Jersey and New York would see little relief in the bill because of two popular deductions that aren't as important in states with lower taxes and property values.