Trump targets Fort Collins' U.S. Rep. Polis with tweet on effort to repeal tax bill

A bill introduced by Fort Collins' U.S. Rep. Jared Polis apparently earned the ire of President Donald Trump on Memorial Day.

Trump tweeted that a bill to repeal his administration's signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would be "too good to be true for Republicans," after adding that it would have "no chance." Polis, a Boulder Democrat whose district includes Fort Collins, introduced that bill in Washington, D.C., last week.

The bill, titled the Students Over Special Interests Act, would use the money from the tax cut bill to cancel outstanding federal student loan debt.

Trump, a Republican, added that Democrats are "also weak on Crime, the Border and want to be gentle and kind to MS-13 gang members... not good!"

Polis, who is running for governor, responded that he "proudly" wrote the bill.

"Simple choice this election: President and GOP lose by cozying up to corporate special interests. We win by standing up for students, public schools, and families," Polis tweeted.

Polis added that his authoring the bill is Trump's "only one true claim" in his tweet.

"Because your law slashes rates for big corporations/special interests, RAISES taxes on working families, & jacks up health premiums. The exact opposite of that sounds pretty good to me," Polis tweeted.

The tax bill was signed into law shortly before Christmas 2017. It passed through the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate without any Democratic votes.

In a press release about the introduction of his repeal bill, Polis' office characterizes the tax bill as "$1.9 trillion in corporate and special interest giveaways."

“Proud to be THAT Democratic lawmaker referenced in the Tweet," Polis said in in statement response the attention from Trump on Monday. "Someone needs to stand up for the people — because Donald Trump and the Congressional Republicans are only looking out for lobbyists and special interests, and they raised taxes and health care costs for many families with their scheme.

"We can cancel out student debt, make college more affordable, and reduce the deficit by replacing the GOP tax plan and its $1.9 trillion in corporate and special interest giveaways with something that actually helps. Let’s do it."

Polis' bill was introduced Wednesday and referenced to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The Republican party controls the House, Senate and White House. A bill repealing their signature achievement of the Trump Administration would be extremely unlikely to progress.

The Republican tax reform law generally lowered taxes for individuals and corporations, albeit with the removal of some tax loopholes. It also lowered the cap on the amount of state taxes that are deductible from federal taxes, bolstering Colorado's state budget in the process, though not by much.

The cuts also generally benefit wealthier individuals, with more than half the cuts going to the top 5 percent of taxpayers by income, according to the Colorado Fiscal Institute, and most of the long-term benefits of the tax cut will go toward corporations, according to the Washington Post.