Last Minute Changes to GOP Tax Bill May Delay Vote

Republicans are planning to unveil the language of the tax reform bill hashed out between House and Senate negotiators.  The bill is supposed to go up for a vote in both chambers next week, but some last-minute demands could throw a wrench in those plans.  

Republicans are expected to unveil the language of a tax reform bill that House and Senate negotiators painstakingly combed through, but there are some requests to revise the bill after Senators Marco Rubio and Mike Lee issued an ultimatum.

They’re demanding that the Refundable Child Tax Credit be increased by more than $100. An earlier bill would have doubled it.

Rubio and Lee have a lot of leverage, because Senate Republicans can only afford to lose two votes. The President is confident he can get them on board.

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is expected to vote against the bill because he’s concerned about its impact on the deficit, and two more Republicans may not be able to vote at all. Senators John McCain and Thad Cochran are both ill and have already missed votes this week.

The Republican majority is going to shrink even further in January when Democrat Doug Jones takes the seat he won in Alabama’s special election.