Republicans celebrated their first legislative win of the year Wednesday, after both houses of Congress passed a sweeping tax reform package.
But one Democratic congresswoman told Cheddar there’s still hope for constituents who remain opposed to the bill.
“Stay mobilized, let your voice be heard,” Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) said Wednesday morning, after the Senate voted, but before the House reconvened. “Nothing is permanent but death and taxes, and we can do something about these taxes and we can do something about the makeup of this Congress.”
The president and his party leaders gathered Wednesday afternoon to praise the benefits of the tax system overhaul, which drops the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, nearly doubles the standard deduction for individuals, and lowers the tax rate for most income brackets.
While the GOP says the long-overdue changes will provide a boost to the economy, Democrats dispute that claim and say the bill will largely benefit the wealthiest Americans and balloon the deficit.
The bill does appear to be broadly unpopular. A recent CNN poll found that 55 percent of respondents opposed the legislation, a 10 percentage point increase since last month. Still, it passed the House by a vote of 224-201 Wednesday afternoon, with only 12 Republican naysayers.
Republicans also took to Twitter to cheer the victory. President Donald Trump posted a gif that read “Tax Cut for Christmas”.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-bonnie-watson-coleman-d-nj-says-voters-can-change-the-makeup-of-congress-in-2018).
Despite uncertainty on who exactly will be in the White House, the Senate in GOP control, and the House in Democratic hands, Wall Street is riding high.
President Trump won support from about 8 in 10 white evangelical Protestant voters, according to the AP VoteCast. But Catholic voters split almost evenly between him and Joe Biden.
Election officials in key battlegrounds are pressing forward with vote counting, two days after Election Day. Democrat Joe Biden is urging patience, while President Donald Trump is pursuing legal options, insisting the processing of ballots should be stopped.
Katie Hobbs, Arizona's Secretary of State, joined Cheddar to discuss the safety of poll workers as President Trump levels accusations at the process and when Americans can expect an update.
Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson joined Cheddar to discuss Trump's attempts to increase doubt in the election process and the state's security protocols that were taken to protect against such attacks.
The Fed announced no new actions after its latest policy meeting but left the door open to provide further assistance in the coming months.
As Democrat Joe Biden inches closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, President Donald Trump’s campaign has put into action the legal strategy the president had signaled for weeks.
Joe Biden has won Michigan and Wisconsin, pushing him closer to 270 Electoral College votes and narrowing President Donald Trump’s path to reelection.
The Trump campaign says it has filed lawsuits Wednesday in Pennsylvania and Michigan, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in undecided battleground states.
Councilman Ritchie Torres became the first openly gay Black man to win a Congressional seat on Election Day. He will now represent New York's 15th District recently vacated by long-time Congressman José Serrano.
