Donald Trump won over millions of new working-class voters with his promises to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security income, and to create a new tax credit for family caregivers. He does not have to wait months to pass a major tax overhaul to deliver on those promises. He can do so immediately on taking office. Here’s how:
With Republicans in control of the Senate, the House and the White House, they can make good on these vows with simple majority votes in both chambers using the budget reconciliation process. Every year, the House and Senate are supposed to adopt a budget resolution to establish an overall budget. Both houses then pass a budget reconciliation bill that makes changes to tax and spending policy — and is voted on in the Senate using expedited rules that prevent the minority from delaying or filibustering it. This is how Trump passed his 2017 tax reform with only Republican votes, and how President Joe Biden passed his American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction acts with only Democratic votes.
But next year, Trump will have an extraordinary opportunity to pass not one, but two budget reconciliation bills. That’s because the Republican House and Democratic Senate could not agree on a 2025 budget resolution. This means that when the new Republican Congress is seated in January, it can enact two budget resolutions during Trump’s first year in office — one for fiscal 2025 and a second for fiscal 2026. That will allow Congress to pass, and Trump to sign, two budget reconciliation bills related to tax policy with only Republican votes next year.
Read more in the Washington Post here.