Advertisements

Two Republican senators are threatening to vote against the GOP tax scam before it even makes it to a full vote in the Senate, the latest sign that the proposal may not have enough support to get through the upper chamber of Congress.

According to The Hill, “Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), are threatening to vote against the GOP tax reform bill in the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday unless changes are made to address their concerns.”

Given the fact that Republicans only hold a 12-11 majority on the committee, any “no” votes from GOP members would doom the proposal before the full Senate has a chance to weigh in.

Advertisements

To make matters worse, both Johnson and Corker have very different reasons for opposing the current form of the plan, meaning it’s no guarantee that both of them will be satisfied with potential changes.

As the same report noted, “Corker fears predicted deficit increases if the measure is passed, while Johnson worries the bill does not do enough to help small businesses.”

Outside of the Senate Budget Committee, Republican Sen. Steve Daines (MT) said he, too, cannot support the GOP tax plan in its present form, citing the same negative impact on small businesses that concerns Sen. Johnson.

If Republicans are struggling to even get a 12-vote majority in a committee vote, it doesn’t bode well for their chances of getting majority approval if the full Senate takes it up. They can only afford two defections – any more would doom the legislation.

Whether they will avoid these defections remains to be seen. As Natasha Guzman wrote earlier, there are six key GOP senators to watch as the tax reform debate continues playing out.

If Republicans fail to win over enough of them to pass their massive handout to the wealthiest Americans, it will be another embarrassing failure for the president and his party, who still have failed to fulfill any major campaign promises since Donald Trump was sworn in this year.