The path to win major legislative victories for the Trump Administration is becoming increasingly narrow. With the August recess looming, with only seven more weeks until lawmakers leave Washington, the future of health-care or tax initiatives is bogging down in the Senate.
President Trump has said that the Senate should change its long-standing rules and switch to 51 votes to pass health care changes and to vote on a tax bill instead of seeking to get 60 votes to end a potential filibuster. However, the Senate is already working to pass health-care and tax changes with just the 51 votes, but derision within the GOP is making that difficult.
Congress is also being distracted by other issues that could jeopardize President Trump’s agenda. Republicans are divided as to whether they can vote to pass a budget resolution in the coming months. Failing to do so could make it much more difficult to change the tax code. Stark differences exist within the GOP over whether to prioritize defense spending or deficit reduction.
Complicating matters further, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has told Congress that he wants the debt ceiling raised before the August recess. This is putting pressure on uneasy Republicans to take a vote, before they head back to their home districts and face conservative opposition to such a vote.
The federal government spends more money than it brings in through revenue, and it covers the difference by issuing debt to essentially borrow the money. The government can only borrow money up to a certain level set by Congress. If Americans pay taxes at a slower rate than expected, and there appears to be signs that that is happening, the government could run out of money sooner than anticipated. This is the reason Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is pushing for a vote by August.
White House officials are pushing Senate Republicans in June to vote on a repeal of the Affordable Care Act and then spend the remainder of the summer gaining support for major tax cuts. An infrastructure package is also on the docket for lawmakers to consider, although the Trump administration has not put together yet a final plan.
The White House is pinning much of the blame for stalled efforts on Senate Democrats, saying the White House’s agenda is being bogged down because of Democrats ability to block measure using filibuster rules. Republicans control 52 of the Senate’s 100 seats, requiring them to gain support from Democrats on many issues.
