WASHINGTON (AP) – A key Senate committee advanced a sweeping tax package to the full Senate on Tuesday, handing Republican leaders a victory as they try to pass the nation’s first tax overhaul in 31 years.
The Senate Budget Committee voted 12-11 to advance the bill as two committee Republicans who had said they were considering voting against the measure – Bob Corker of Tennessee and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin – backed the legislation.
President Donald Trump personally lobbied Republican senators at the Capitol on Tuesday and the bill passed with little fanfare other than a few protesters who tried to disrupt the vote. All 11 Democrats were opposed.
The White House celebrated the vote.
“The momentum driving our shared priorities of job growth, economic competiveness, and fiscal responsibility through tax reform is undeniable,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.