May 12, 2025

Trump's impossible tax cut promises

 MSNBC -   President Donald Trump is not exactly known for being detail-oriented. As a candidate, he rattled off a slew of big promises during his rallies, talking up an ever-growing buffet of tax relief to his supporters. Taxes on tips? Consider them gone. Taxes on overtime? Out of here. And the tax cuts that Republicans passed in 2017 during his first term? He’d make them permanent before they expire at the start of 2026.

The problem is that (as per his idiom) Trump has managed to write a bunch of checks that he can’t cash on his own.

The problem is that (as per his idiom) Trump has managed to write a bunch of checks that he can’t cash on his own. It falls to congressional Republicans to make his dreams a reality — and they’re running up against stumbling block after stumbling block in the process. Even as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attempts to wrangle his caucus into shape, Trump is doing little to help.

If anything, as evidenced by the roller coaster ride that he engineered for his party on Friday, the president has been more of a carnival barker than a ringmaster for this legislative session, promising big results but offering little leadership. Even after the House Ways and Means Committee released the first preview of its plan on Friday night, it was still unclear what the final bill will look like or how much of the package Trump might ultimately sign off on.

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