Democrats ask Republicans to hold off on tax vote until Jones is seated in the Senate

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

last updated 14 December 2017

With a win under their belt, Democratic leaders on Wednesday called on Republicans to slow down their attempt to push through their tax bill and wait to hold the vote until Doug Jones, the newly elected senator from Alabama, is seated.

Republicans say they have reached a deal on a $1.5 trillion tax plan, which lowers the corporate tax rate to 21 percent and the top individual tax rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned Republicans that if a bill that heavily favors the wealthiest Americans goes through, "there will be many more Alabamas in 2018. Many more. The suburbs are swinging back to us."

Republicans, who want the House and Senate to vote on a bill by the end of next week, said they are not slowing down. "We are moving ahead as we always have been on the same timeline we've been talking about for months," said Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). It's not clear when Jones will arrive in Washington; Alabama's secretary of state said the soonest the election will be certified is Dec. 26 or 27, and if the Senate goes on break as scheduled on Dec. 22, they're not expected back until Jan. 3. Once Jones is officially seated, he will cut the GOP majority down to one vote, from two.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox