Senate Republicans are rewriting major parts of their tax plan after Thursday night setbacks

The Senate hits pause on tax vote
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Senate Republican tax overhaul appeared heading to party-line approval on Thursday evening when a few things happened that derailed the vote until Friday.

First, the official congressional Joint Committee on Taxation found that the $1.63 trillion plan would add $1 trillion to the federal deficit even when accounting for economic growth. That led to three Republican senators — Bob Corker (Tenn.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), and Ron Johnson (Wis.) — considering approving a Democratic amendment to send the entire bill back to the Finance Committee for a rewrite, until a scrum of GOP senators convinced them to vote against the measure. And then the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, ruled that a proposed deficit-limiting "trigger" provision was not allowed under rules Republicans are relying on to pass the measure with no Democratic votes.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.