In 2024, Democrats ran on the platform of “never Donald Trump” more than they ran on any valid policy ideas, and two years into his current term, they’re still the party of “never Trump.”
Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday voted down a Democratic amendment that sought to block the Trump administration’s proposal to limit certain IRS audit procedures involving President Donald Trump and members of his family, while advancing a broader tax administration bill with bipartisan support.
The committee rejected the amendment by a 14-13 party-line vote, according to Politico.
Lawmakers then approved the underlying legislation by a vote of 26-1, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., casting the only vote against the measure.
Democrats have strongly criticized the administration’s proposal, arguing it would give Trump protections from IRS audits that are not available to other taxpayers and characterizing the plan as an abuse of executive authority.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, argued that adopting the Democratic amendment would have jeopardized the broader tax administration bill, which includes more than 60 largely noncontroversial provisions aimed at improving IRS operations and administration.
“This is not the place,” Crapo said.
“If this bill were to become the vehicle where this issue is resolved, it would basically make this bill a partisan bill,” giving it “a much dimmer future for becoming law,” he added.
Warren complained that she didn’t back the measure because it didn’t address the audit agreement involving Trump, whose privacy was violated by an IRS contractor who leaked a copy of his tax returns to The New York Times during Trump’s first term.
“No other taxpayer, ever, has gotten this kind of a deal,” Warren said.
“I cannot support a bill that rubber stamps Donald Trump’s corruption. Congress needs to stand up and put a stop to it,” she said.
Trump has not been charged with any acts of corruption and Warren did not point to any specifics to support her claim.
The administration announced the proposed IRS audit policy in May after President Trump agreed to withdraw what officials described as a likely unsuccessful lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the disclosure of his tax information by contractor Charles Littlejohn to The Times.
The big news in the U.S. Senate this week came when Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate on Monday after nearly three months away from Capitol Hill.
The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican immediately resumed official duties by casting his first Senate vote since June 11.
McConnell voted in favor of advancing Matthew R. Byrne’s nomination to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio.
The cloture motion passed by the narrowest possible margin, 47-46, with seven senators not voting.
“Time to get back to work, finish the job of this Congress,” McConnell told reporters before heading toward the Senate chamber.
An aide pushed McConnell through the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor in a wheelchair as reporters gathered for his first public appearance in months.
McConnell appeared upbeat while acknowledging that his recovery remains incomplete.
In a statement released by his office, McConnell said the process had been “long and often frustrating” and complicated by lingering effects from childhood polio.
“I’m still not quite back to 100 percent,” McConnell said.
He added that he would continue physical therapy while trying to be present for important votes when Republicans need him.
McConnell was hospitalized June 14 after falling at his Washington home and briefly losing consciousness.
His office later announced that he had been discharged from rehabilitation in early August and would continue recovering at home.
McConnell also outlined several issues he intends to work on during the closing months of his final Senate term.
He specifically cited the farm bill as important to Kentucky and reiterated his interest in NATO and continued U.S. support for Ukraine.
His return could matter immediately for Republicans on several pieces of legislation because narrow committee margins have made individual GOP votes important.
The farm bill stalled in the Senate Agriculture Committee last month after Democrats opposed the measure amid disagreements over changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
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