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).
The Fed said in a statement that the decision to lower rates was influenced by the "implications of global developments for the economic outlook" and "muted inflation pressures."
The escalating measure follows several days of heightened tensions between the two countries over the attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
In the shadow of the Washington Square Arch Monday night in front of a crowd of thousands, the presidential hopeful outlined her platform to fight corruption in Washington D.C.
Governments and energy markets worldwide remain on edge Monday as the U.S. continues to blame Iran for the drone attack on two oil installations in Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
The détente emerged Wednesday after China approved tariff exemptions for a number of U.S. imports and President Trump announced that the U.S. will postpone its forthcoming tariff hikes.
Reporter's Notebook: While Houstonians may be used to weather in the 90s in mid-September, perhaps some of Thursday night's hottest takes happened on the debate stage, as the gloves came off between the top ten Democratic primary candidates.
In the wake of two mass shootings last month in Texas, gun control took center stage at the third Democratic debate Thursday night, and gave former Congressman Beto O’Rourke one of the best moments of his campaign.
Walsh, a former Congressman from Illinois and conservative radio host, launched his campaign last month by trying to make the case that Trump is uniquely and morally unfit to lead the nation.
A coalition of 145 CEOs sent an open letter to the U.S. Senate urging them to take up legislation to curb the epidemic of gun violence.
President Trump announced Wednesday that the government will develop new policies to ban flavored e-cigarettes in an effort to curb underage vaping.
