Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In what is probably the least shocking news coming out of the Trump White House and the deplorable Republican Congress, the tax bill that will help no one but Congress members and those in the top 1 percent has been approved resoundingly by both chambers of Congress with no Democratic support.




Days before Christmas, Republican Congress members gift wrapped themselves a massive overhaul of the tax code that offers all kinds of tax breaks to those who earn a bazillion dollars. Now the last step is for President TinyHands von SmurfDick to sign it into law.

Here’s how the Washington Post describes the vote breakdown and what the actual tax bill means:

The measure passed the House 224 to 201 as overwhelming Republican support carried the bill past unanimous Democratic opposition and ‘no’ votes from 12 GOP members. The House vote comes after the Senate approved an identical measure early Wednesday morning. In a 51 to 48 vote, all Democrats opposed the bill while all Republicans present supported it. The plan would permanently drop the corporate tax from 35 percent to 21 percent, while also rewriting the individual tax rules to lower rates and restructure deductions. The plan would cut taxes in 2018 for the vast majority of households, with by far the largest benefits going to the wealthy. Many of the tax breaks are set to expire at the end of 2025, leaving a large section of the middle class to pay more in taxes. But Republicans promise a future Congress will intervene to prevent that tax hike from happening.


Also, in a strange tradition, on Wednesday, the Post notes, congressional Republicans plan to go to the White House to dance and gloat over the passage of the bill and the destruction of the poor and middle class.



“This bill means more take-home pay,” Donald Trump told reporters at the White House. “It will be an incredible Christmas gift for hardworking Americans.”



Except it doesn’t and it won’t; The Root staff writer Michael Harriot recently explained how this bill is total bullshit for the middle class and a virtual death sentence for the poor:


There is a good chance that Trump may wait until January to sign the bill into law, but if waiting helps Americans, then totally prep yourself for Trump to sign this bill tonight.



Expect Republicans to hit the news cycle to spin this, touting how it’s a win for middle America (it is not), and how giving tax breaks to the rich will help stimulate the economy (it won’t), and how allowing bigger tax breaks to companies will lead to higher wages (which it won’t). In short, this tax bill has always been a homeboy handshake between the rich, and I wish they would stop telling us that this wetness we feel is just rain, as if we don’t know the difference.


Read more at the Washington Post.