Republicans reached agreement on their tax reform legislation on Wednesday, as Democrats responded to their stunning Senate victory in Alabama by calling on Donald Trump’s party to postpone a vote on the legislation.
Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives bridged the differences in their respective tax bills, settling on a reduction of the corporate tax rate to 21 per cent, from the present 35 per cent. Orrin Hatch, the Republican head of the Senate finance committee, said the party had secured enough votes to pass the legislation — a result that would hand Mr Trump his first big legislative victory as president.
The Republicans are hoping to vote on the legislation next week. But Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, called on Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, to postpone the vote until Doug Jones, the Democrat who won the Alabama race, takes up his seat, which is unlikely before January.