> Much as he may wish to, Donald Trump cannot govern through imperial decree alone. Congress is drafting legislation to remake the tax system and alter federal spending—something only it can do. On May 12th Republicans unveiled their new plan. Unfortunately it is a mess.
> Congressional Republicans need to act for a few reasons. First, many of the tax cuts passed in 2017 under the first Trump administration were due to expire this year. Second, the president made a series of generous campaign pledges that he wishes to see enacted quickly. Third, the spending cuts that Mr Trump has unilaterally made across the federal government are of questionable legality and would be much more defensible if endorsed by Congress. To avoid the filibuster in the Senate (and a Democratic veto), Republicans are seeking to accomplish all three goals in an omnibus bill passed using a procedure called reconciliation (which imposes strict limits on the contents). They would like to get it to the president’s desk by July 4th. The hard deadline is August, when America must raise its debt ceiling or risk a partial default.
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Paywall:
> Much as he may wish to, Donald Trump cannot govern through imperial decree alone. Congress is drafting legislation to remake the tax system and alter federal spending—something only it can do. On May 12th Republicans unveiled their new plan. Unfortunately it is a mess.
> Congressional Republicans need to act for a few reasons. First, many of the tax cuts passed in 2017 under the first Trump administration were due to expire this year. Second, the president made a series of generous campaign pledges that he wishes to see enacted quickly. Third, the spending cuts that Mr Trump has unilaterally made across the federal government are of questionable legality and would be much more defensible if endorsed by Congress. To avoid the filibuster in the Senate (and a Democratic veto), Republicans are seeking to accomplish all three goals in an omnibus bill passed using a procedure called reconciliation (which imposes strict limits on the contents). They would like to get it to the president’s desk by July 4th. The hard deadline is August, when America must raise its debt ceiling or risk a partial default.