Congress
Trump gets wish list in House GOP tax bill, with some exceptions
President Donald Trump won more than he lost in the House GOP’s newly unveiled tax legislation, though some of his priorities were slimmed down and his bid to raise taxes on some financial heavyweights wasn’t included.
The bill — which the House tax-writing committee will take up Tuesday — not only delivers on his promise to make a slew of his expiring 2017 tax cuts permanent, but also includes tax relief for tips, seniors and overtime work. Trump also got his request to give taxpayers a deduction for the interest they pay on auto loans, and to limit deductions for the purchase of sports teams.
The bill leaves a placeholder to at least triple the state and local tax deduction, after Trump promised blue-state Republicans during the presidential campaign that he would “get SALT back,” a break prized by their constituents that is now capped at $10,000. The exact contours are still up for discussion, though, Speaker Mike Johnson said.
In an homage to Trump’s populist base, Republicans would create a new tax-preferred savings plan called a “MAGA account” for children under the age of 8.
The draft also delivers another key Trump demand — a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike. The president raised the issue in private for months, saying he did not want to be forced into a massive spending deal with Democrats in order to avoid a debt default.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform and declared the bill “GREAT.”
“When I return from the Middle East, where great things will happen for America, we will work together on any and all outstanding issues, but there shouldn’t be many,” he wrote.
But the bill would require Trump to make some compromises. The breaks for tips, seniors and overtime pay would only last four years and include income restrictions for qualifying. That’s a nod to the fiscal constraints Republican tax writers are working under, which require trillions of dollars in spending cuts to offset some of the cost of the tax cuts.
And the plan doesn’t heed Trump’s call to eliminate the ”carried interest loophole” that taxes some income earned by private equity and hedge fund managers at a lower rate than normal income.
A tax increase on the highest-earning Americans, which administration officials had said was on the table, didn’t make it in either. Trump himself sent conflicting signals about the idea, seeming to embrace a “tiny” increase, while simultaneously saying it would be a bad political move.
Of course, this isn’t the end of the road for the bill. It’s just the beginning. The massive bill’s path through the GOP’s slim majority in the House is by no means assured. Deficit hawks are still upset.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) took to X after the bill’s release to complain that the GOP’s plan “leaves more than $20 trillion in additional debt in 10 years — and most of the [spending] cuts are beyond the Trump years.”
Assuming the legislation gets through the House, some additional business breaks are likely to be added in the Senate. But the chamber could also pare things.
The House text is “a good start,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Monday. Asked what changes he wants, Cornyn quipped, “How much time do you have? I don’t have that much time.”
“I want to wait and see what the House actually passes because these at this point are just sort of ideas,” Cornyn said.
Trump’s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, appeared to acknowledge as much shortly after House Republicans released the bill Monday, calling it “a great first step.”
Jordain Carney and Megan Messerly contributed to this report.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee with vast jurisdiction over artificial intelligence policy, outlined six AI safety principles Wednesday morning — tenets she believes should underpin any legislation to stave off the greatest threats posed by the rapidly-evolving technology.
“To manage risks from advanced AI systems we need clear safety standards, continuous testing, and reporting of serious failures,” the Washington Democrat said in a statement. “America can lead the world in AI by building systems that are not only more capable, but safer and more secure.”
Cantwell’s framework would encompass six priority areas: enforceable safety standards for frontier models, continuous testing, disclosure and oversight, public-private partnerships, protection for children and workers and adherence to U.S.-led global standards.
To directly address risks posed by the technology, her framework would have federal experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and other agencies establish clear federal rules to address harms, with specialized standards for open-source AI models to reduce risks of catastrophic misuse.
The senator is also recommending that the federal government provide developers with guidance on how to accelerate U.S. leadership on AI without sacrificing basic safety protocols.
On testing, Cantwell argues the government and independent experts should provide constant oversight and “continually scrutinize and stress test covered AI models,” particularly when sensitive information or secure facilities are involved.
She also says AI systems must have built-in safeguards to ensure they halt self-modification that could bypass safety controls. And she states that advanced models should not be released until they have undergone an independent, comprehensive audit — similar to outside auditors examining a company’s financial statements.
Cantwell, a former tech executive, has for years pursued similar priorities. But her new framework comes ahead of a midterm election that could return control of the Senate to Democrats, handing Cantwell back of the Commerce Committee gavel.
It also comes as lawmakers are under pressure to regulate the AI industry but are showing few signs that they will be able to reach consensus, across the aisle or even within their own party.
Senators had hoped for hearings, markups and briefings on AI legislation before leaving Washington until after the November elections, but little progress was made. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the current Commerce Committee chair, has continued to say he intends to hold a markup on AI-related bills but has punted multiple times, saying senators have yet to reach agreement on any bipartisan measure.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have been trying to cut a deal on legislation to prevent and contain catastrophic risk from runaway AI technology, but bill text has so far failed to materialize.
Cantwell’s approach laid out Wednesday morning would be stricter and more comprehensive than what Thune and Klobuchar are expected to ultimately produce, based on similar legislation they have offered in the past.
Her approach of “constant oversight and vigilance” would also serve as a contrast to that of GOP leaders, who have consistently called for a “light touch” regulatory regime.
Senate Republicans are privately ready for a post-election Supreme Court nomination fight that may never come.
There aren’t too many signs from the two oldest justices — 78-year-old Clarence Thomas and 76-year-old Samuel Alito — that either plans to retire in the coming months and force Republicans to spring into action to fill a vacancy.
But the two men would face a mountain of pressure to step down in the lame-duck period if Democrats retake the Senate, which could essentially shut down confirmations of President Donald Trump’s favored nominees.
Such a retirement announcement would kick off a chaotic sprint on Capitol Hill, giving Republicans just five scheduled session weeks to cobble together 50 votes for a Trump nominee.
Republicans in a position to act said in recent interviews they would certainly try to rapidly confirm any Trump pick.
“We would proceed quickly with such a vacancy,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said “of course” they would. Sen. Thom Tillis, a frequent Trump critic who could single-handedly bottle up a nominee in Judiciary, said he would “absolutely” support a post-election confirmation.
“You’ve got to use your majority position to take that vote,” Tillis said.
Several senators, including Thune, are skeptical a vacancy even happens. Alito told Bloomberg News in an interview published Tuesday he would “stick around” at least until the court’s current term ends early next summer. Thomas hasn’t publicly addressed his retirement in years and has otherwise given no signs of imminent plans to quit.
“I don’t know why you assume there will be one,” said Sen. Susan Collins, another potentially pivotal vote who left the door open to filling any vacancy, pointing to her longstanding position that “as long as it’s not close to a presidential election that we should proceed.”
Still, some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle with battle scars from prior confirmation fights over Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson aren’t ready to entertain the thought of a lame-duck confirmation sprint.
“Oh, gosh,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski. “You’re giving me the chills.”
What else we’re watching:
— INSIDE COONS’ ISRAEL TURNABOUT: Sen. Chris Coons is likely to chair Foreign Relations if Democrats win the Senate, and — in what he describes as a “fairly sharp break” in his thinking — he’s not ruling out sanctions on Israel’s prime minister. The Delaware senator’s evolution matches that of other moderate Democrats in the three years since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack triggered a military response that Israel’s critics have said amounted to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
— TRUMP COLLEGE TAX RULES WORRY DEMS: Democratic lawmakers are worried proposed Trump administration rules targeting diversity initiatives on college campuses could threaten universities’ finances over commonplace activities. “What if a university has Black History Month?” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who sits on the tax-writing Finance Committee, said in a recent interview. “Is that going to cause them to lose their tax-exempt status?” The IRS regulations proposed Sept. 3 are slated to go into effect next June. Supporters say the rules should be used to prevent schools from considering race in decisions over who they admit, hire and promote, for example.
Jordain Carney, Daniella Cheslow and Brian Faler contributed to this report.
Congress
‘Use your majority’: In the unlikely event of a Supreme Court vacancy, Republicans are ready to act
Senate Republicans are unlikely to get a Supreme Court vacancy this year. They’re privately prepared for one, just in case.
A Democratic midterm triumph would carry massive implications for the final years of President Donald Trump’s presidency, including the prospect that the Senate could essentially shut down confirmations of his favored nominees. That’s a nightmare scenario for Republicans, who have viewed their reshaping of the federal judiciary as a crown jewel of Trump’s legacy.
The two oldest Supreme Court justices — 78-year-old Clarence Thomas and 76-year-old Samuel Alito — are both Republican appointees and reliable Trump allies, and key Senate Republicans said in recent interviews with Blue Light News they would support filling a high-court slot this year if one opens up.
“We would proceed quickly with such a vacancy,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Signs that Republicans will need to spring into action are scarce. Alito told Bloomberg News in an interview published Tuesday that he would “stick around” at least until the court’s current term ends early next summer. Thomas, meanwhile, hasn’t publicly addressed his retirement plans in years and has otherwise given no signs of imminent plans to quit.
But if the GOP loses control of the Senate in the midterms, both men would face a mountain of pressure to consider stepping down, given the stakes. Democrats remain bitter over the Republican blockade of President Barack Obama’s final Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, and could block a fourth Trump justice.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in an interview over the summer that part of his pitch to recruit candidates was “two words that make a huge difference: Supreme Court.” Speaking to reporters last week, Schumer indicated that Democrats would use their majority to block judicial nominees they view as too extreme.
“One of the reasons we need to make sure that we do everything we can to take back the Senate is [to] not let Trump put such horrible justices, MAGA justices, on the Supreme Court and the lower courts,” he said.
A post-Nov. 3 announcement would be the first time since the 1922 retirement of Mahlon Pitney that a Supreme Court justice announced his or her departure in the lame-duck period after a midterm election, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Such an announcement would kick off a chaotic sprint on Capitol Hill, giving Republicans just five scheduled session weeks to cobble together 50 votes for a Trump nominee.
Those in a position to act said recently they would certainly try — and there is recent precedent for doing it quickly: Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed just 38 days after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s September 2020 death.
Like Thune, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said “of course” Senate Republicans would try to fill a post-election vacancy.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a frequent Trump critic who could single-handedly bottle up a nominee in the Judiciary Committee, said he would “absolutely” support filling an end-of-year vacancy.
“You’ve got to use your majority position to take that vote,” he said.
But Tillis was among many in the GOP who doubt senators will have a slot to fill. “I can’t think of anything other than health,” he said, that would cause a justice to quickly step down.
Thune said that if a justice had plans to retire, “They would have done it already.”
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, another potentially pivotal vote, also left the door open to a post-election confirmation. The only Senate Republican running this year in a state won by Kamala Harris, Collins pointed to her longstanding position that “as long as it’s not close to a presidential election that we should proceed to consider nominees.”
“I don’t know why you assume there will be one,” she added. “I haven’t heard that will happen.”
Collins knows as well as anyone the perils of taking up high-court nominations in an election year. She cited the too-close-to–Election Day rule in voting against Barrett’s nomination as she stood for reelection in 2020.
But Democrats are still hammering her decision to vote for Brett Kavanaugh a month before the 2018 midterms — even after his nomination was thrown into turmoil by allegations of sexual misconduct and assault which he denied.
Troy Jackson, Collins’ Democratic opponent, posted on X this week that Collins “cannot be trusted with voting on our next Supreme Court Justice.”
The campaign-trail sparring reflects just how partisan and contentious high-court nomination battles have grown, and plenty of senators are hoping to avoid a knock-down-drag-out fight on the heels of a similarly nasty midterm campaign.
In a sign of the battle scars left from the fights over Kavanaugh, Barrett and the most recent Supreme Court confirmee — Ketanji Brown Jackson — some lawmakers said they weren’t ready to even entertain the thought of a lame-duck confirmation sprint.
“Not a hypothetical I’m ready to talk about,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who is expected to lead Democrats on the Judiciary Committee next year.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who would be a closely watched vote, made a quick escape when she was asked about the scenario.
“Oh, gosh,” she said. “You’re giving me the chills.”
Chris Marquette contributed to this report.
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