“If Democrats were not such obstructionists and understood the power of lower taxes, we would be able to get many of their ideas into Bill!” President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter. | Evan Vucci/AP Trump faults Democrats for not being involved in tax reform bill

President Donald Trump on Friday accused Democrats of refusing to cooperate with Republicans on an overhaul of the tax code, suggesting that the minority party might like the legislation better if it were to work with the GOP to include some of its own ideas in the bill.

“If Democrats were not such obstructionists and understood the power of lower taxes, we would be able to get many of their ideas into Bill!” Trump wrote on Twitter Friday morning.


Republicans passed their package of tax cuts and reforms relatively easily on Thursday through the House of Representatives, but did so without a single Democratic vote. The legislation’s path in the Senate, where the GOP has majority by just two seats, is expected to be more difficult. Republicans have said they hope to have the tax legislation passed and on the president’s desk by the end of the year.

Trump has regularly predicted that at least a handful of Democrats will end up voting in favor of his tax legislation, and the White House has at times courted red-state Democratic senators who are up for reelection in 2018. But other Democrats have complained about being left out of the bill-writing process, accusing Republicans of crafting the legislation behind closed doors.

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“Democrats should join us and make it bipartisan and permanent, not just criticize,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas wrote on Twitter earlier this month in response to a criticism of the GOP’s then-unreleased tax plan. Linking back to Cornyn’s post, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) replied “I accept!! Tell me where the secret room is where you are writing the bill and I WILL BE THERE!”