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GOP push to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, say going back would be a ‘dramatic’ change for many
Tax season is done.
And this year, Congressional Republicans converted tax season to «sales» season. Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to approve a bill to reauthorize his 2017 tax cut package. Otherwise, those taxes expire later this year.
«We absolutely have to make the tax cuts permanent,» said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., on FOX Business.
«We’ve got to get the renewal of the President’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That’s absolutely essential,» said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on FOX Business.
Rates for nearly every American spike if Congress doesn’t act within the next few months.
CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATS HITS ALL TIME LOW IN NEW POLL
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with the media after the House passed the budget resolution on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«We are trying to avoid tax increases on the most vulnerable populations in our country,» said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which determines tax policy. «I am trying to avoid a recession.»
If Congress stumbles, the non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that a married couple with two children – earning $165,000 a year – is slapped with an extra $2,400 in taxes. A single parent with no kids making $75,000 annually could see a $1,700 upcharge on their tax bill. A single parent with two children bringing home $52,000 a year gets slapped with an additional $1,400 in taxes a year.
«Pretty significant. That’s an extra mortgage payment or extra rent payment,» said Daniel Bunn of the non-partisan Tax Foundation. «People have been kind of used to living with the policies that are currently in law for almost eight years now. And the shift back to the policy that was prior to the 2017 tax cuts would be a dramatic tax increase for many.»
But technically, Republicans aren’t cutting taxes.
«As simple as I can make this bill. It is about keeping tax rates the same,» said Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, on Fox.
Congress had to write the 2017 tax reduction bill in a way so that the reductions would expire this year. That was for accounting purposes. Congress didn’t have to count the tax cuts against the deficit thanks to some tricky number-crunching mechanisms – so long as they expired within a multi-year window. But the consequence was that taxes could climb if lawmakers failed to renew the old reductions.
«It sunsets and so you just automatically go back to the tax levels prior to 2017,» said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
A recent Fox News poll found that 45% of those surveyed – and 44% of independents believe the rich don’t pay enough taxes.
Democrats hope to turn outrage about the perceived tax disparity against Trump.
«He wants his billionaire buddies to get an even bigger tax break. Is that disgraceful?» asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at a rally in New York.
«Disgrace!» shouted someone in the crowd.
«Disgraceful! Disgraceful!» followed up Schumer.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., (R) speaks alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., (L) to reporters during a news conference on the impacts of the Republican budget proposal at the U.S. Capitol on April 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Some Republicans are now exploring raising rates on the wealthy or corporations. There’s been chatter on Capitol Hill and in the administration about exploring an additional set of tax brackets.
«I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,» said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
«We’re going to see where the President is» on this, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while traveling in Argentina. «Everything is on the table.»
A Treasury spokesperson then clarified Bessent’s remarks.
«What’s off the table is a $4.4 trillion tax increase on the American people,» said the spokesperson. «Additionally, corporate tax cuts will set off a manufacturing boom and rapidly grow the U.S. economy again.»
Top Congressional GOP leaders dismissed the idea.
«I’m not a big fan of doing that,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox. «I mean we’re the Republican party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone.»
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«I don’t support that initiative,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on FOX Business, before adding «everything’s on the table.»
But if you’re President Donald Trump and the GOP, consider the politics of creating a new corporate tax rate or hiking taxes on the well-to-do.
Sunrise light hits the U.S. Capitol dome on Thursday, January 2, 2025, as the 119th Congress is set to begin Friday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The president has expanded the GOP base. Republicans are no longer the party of the «wealthy.» Manual laborers, shop and storekeepers and small business persons now comprise Trump’s GOP. So maintaining these tax cuts helps with that working-class core. Raising taxes on the wealthy would help Republicans pay for the tax cuts and reduce the hit on the deficit. And it would shield Republicans from the Democrats’ argument that the tax cuts are for the rich.
Congress is now in the middle of a two-week recess for Passover and Easter. GOP lawmakers and staff are working behind the scenes to actually write the bill. No one knows exactly what will be in the bill. Trump promised no taxes on tips for food service workers. There is also talk of no taxes on overtime.
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Republicans from high-tax states like New York and Pennsylvania want to see a reduction of «SALT.» That’s where taxpayers can write off «state and local taxes.» This provision is crucial to secure the support of Republicans like Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. But including the SALT reduction also increases the deficit.
So what will the bill look like?
«Minor adjustments within that are naturally on the table,» said Rounds. «The key though, [is] 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.»
In other words, it’s about the math. Republicans need to develop the right legislative brew which commands just the right amount of votes in both chambers to pass. That could mean including certain provisions – or dumping others. It’s challenging. Especially with the slim House majority.
People attend a press conference and rally in support of fair taxation near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2025. (Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
«There were trade-offs and offsets within that bill that many people are dissatisfied with,» said Bunn of the 2017 bill. «And it’s not clear how the package is going to come together with those various trade-offs.»
Johnson wants the bill complete by Memorial Day. Republicans know this enterprise can’t drag on too late into the year. Taxpayers would see a tax increase – even if it’s temporary – if working out the bill stretches into the fall when the IRS begins to prepare for the next tax season.
It’s also thought that finishing this sooner rather than later would provide some stability to the volatile stock markets. Establishing tax policy for next year would calm anxieties about the nation’s economic outlook.
«The big, beautiful bill,» Trump calls it, adding he wants the legislation done «soon.»
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And that’s why tax season is now sales season. Both to the lawmakers. And to the public.
Politics,Taxes,Congress,Donald Trump
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Passengers baffled and confused after screams burst from beneath taxiing Air Canada plane
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Passengers aboard a taxiing aircraft were reportedly left horrified last month when chilling screams suddenly echoed from beneath the cabin just moments before takeoff.
According to the officials, a ground crew member became trapped inside the plane’s cargo hold when doors «inadvertently closed» behind him, according to local station CBC.
The incident happened on Dec. 13 when Air Canada Flight 1502 was preparing to depart Toronto Pearson Airport for Moncton, New Brunswick, the outlet said.
The Airbus flight, which was carrying 184 passengers, was ultimately canceled following the incident.
ALL 8 TIRES BURST IN HARROWING ATLANTA LANDING FAILURE INVOLVING PASSENGER JET
An Air Canada plane is seen at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Arrush Chopra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Passengers told CBC that distressing sounds of muffled banging and desperate screams quickly filled the rear of the aircraft as it began taxiing toward the runway, prompting flight attendants to sprint down the aisle in alarm.
«Some of the people that were sitting towards the back of the plane heard the person screaming and banging, trying to get their attention,» passenger Gabrielle Caron said.
«We could see the crew gathering around the plane, so we knew something was happening,» she added. «Then, the pilot tells us that there is someone from the crew in the luggage hold.»
PASSENGER ALLEGEDLY OPENS EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR ON TAXIING PLANE, DEPLOYS SLIDE AT ATLANTA AIRPORT: POLICE
An employee loads suitcases onto an aircraft. (Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The aircraft reportedly halted before reaching the runway. Moments later, the trapped ground crew member emerged safely from the cargo and entered the cabin, reassuring shaken passengers that he was unharmed, Caron reported.
Air Canada confirmed to CBC that no injuries were reported in the incident.
Caron added that the crew member involved was reportedly assisting ground staff by loading items as an extra set of hands and may have been left unaccounted for when the doors closed.
Air Canada flights are stationed outside Toronto Pearson Airport. (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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The plane eventually returned to the terminal, where passengers were asked to disembark while the flight crew completed necessary paperwork, CBC reported.
The flight was ultimately canceled after several delays, the outlet said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Air Canada for more information.
canada,airlines,airports,travel
Mientras se mantienen en Irán las masivas protestas contra el régimen islámico pese a la durísima represión que, según datos de organizaciones de derechos humanos dejó ya alrededor de mil muertos, la información llega desde allí a cuentagotas, tras el corte de Internet y de las comunicaciones decretado por las autoridades.
En medio de la incertidumbre, la agencia RFI logró contactarse con su corresponsal en Teherán, Catalina Gómez Ángel. Desde allí contó lo que está viviendo el país desde fines de diciembre, cuando estallaron las manifestaciones, que en un comienzo se debían a la bronca por el aumento del costo de vida, pero se transformó en un fuerte clamor por libertad y contra el régimen de los ayatollah, que se extendió por todo el país.
Pese a la mala calidad de la conexión, esto es lo que relató desde la capital iraní.
-¿Qué se sabe de lo que ocurre en Irán?
-Sabemos muy poco lo que pasa dentro del país, pero sí sabemos lo que pasa en Teherán. Desde el jueves hubo grandes demostraciones que se unían a esas protestas que ya habían empezado el 28 de diciembre por motivos económicos, que habían pasado a pedir la caída del régimen, y este jueves respondían al llamado que les había hecho de cierta manera algún sector de la población desde el extranjero, uno de los líderes de la oposición, Reza Pahlavi (hijo del último sha, depuesto en la revolución islámica de 1979).
-¿La gente salió igual a las calles pese a la represión?
-Fue una convocatoria muy grande, en unas demostraciones muy diferentes a las que habíamos visto ya muchas veces en Irán en el pasado. Había gente en todos los barrios y poco a poco fue empezando la represión que se esperaba y también la respuesta agresiva de muchos jóvenes en la calle, cansados de tantos años.
-¿Qué se sabe de los muertos?
-Lo que no sabemos cuántos muertos, pero se habla de miles solamente en Teherán y en el gran Teherán. Lo que hemos visto en las calles, en cierta manera fueron batallas muy duras, con enfrentamientos, los chicos respondiendo con piedras, los otros disparando con todo tipo de armas, tanto antimotines como reales. Mucha gente habla de muertos en la calle, especialmente el viernes. Todo el mundo conoce a alguien que ha muerto, que está herido, detenido. Realmente el temor es muy grande. Desde el sábado y el domingo la intensidad de las demostraciones se han reducido como consecuencia de ese miedo. El sistema nos habla al interior de presencia de terroristas, de presencia de infiltrados, y así se lo cuentan a la población local.
-Estas manifestaciones, que empezaron protestando contra la situación económica, han derivado a otras demandas sociales. ¿Esto puede ser el comienzo del fin del régimen?
-Es muy difícil decirlo. El régimen, el sistema de la República Islámica, a pesar de todas estas protestas y movilizaciones, todavía se ve muy fuerte. Todavía tiene estos grandes sectores de defensa, no solamente la policía, la Guardia Revolucionaria, ese gran sistema de misiles y un sector de la sociedad que, si bien cada vez es menos, sigue siendo grande. Se considera que es entre 15 y un 20% de la sociedad, como lo veíamos ayer, con más de 1 millón por lo menos en las calles de Teherán. Era una de las demostraciones oficiales más grandes de las que hemos visto. Y eso hay que tenerlo en cuenta. Lo que sí ha pasado es que este descontento se ha expandido en muchas regiones del país, donde antes la gente no se atrevía a salir. Decir que es el fin es extremadamente complicado. El sistema se está agarrando a muchos factores para sobrevivir. Todavía tiene la fuerza y tiene las armas, que es realmente lo que los hace importantes.
-Sobre la posibilidad de una intervención de Estados Unidos, ¿cómo la evoca la gente al interior de Irán? ¿Se ve con buenos ojos, se pide?
-Muchos están en un grado en este momento que no saben lo que va a pasar. Trump va a responder a esa promesa de atacar al país, que sería realmente lo que muchos piensan que es la segunda etapa, cómo reaccionará la gente que estaba en la calle… Y otros también temen incluso la posibilidad de una guerra y un enfrentamiento civil, porque realmente la rabia entre los dos sectores es bastante grande. Así que la incertidumbre es muy grande. La ciudad está relativamente calmada durante el día, pero cuando llega la noche todo el mundo se esconde porque el que no sale tiene miedo de lo que pueda pasar.
Entrevista de Paula Estañol, RFI
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is facing backlash from the MAGA base after voting with Democrats and a small group of Republican senators to advance a war powers resolution related to Venezuela — marking a break with President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, the Senate is expected to hold a full vote on the resolution that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct future military operations against Venezuela without Congressional approval, teeing up a test for Hawley with MAGA and its base.
The vote comes after Trump announced Jan. 3 that the U.S. military carried out a successful operation in Venezuela, capturing dictatorial president Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The couple is now being held in a New York City jail on sweeping narco-terrorism conspiracy and drug trafficking charges.
The operation set off condemnation among Democrats who took issue with Trump ordering the mission and strike on Venezuela without prior congressional approval.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS RIP SENATE WAR POWERS PUSH AS ‘POLITICAL THEATER’ AFTER TRUMP’S VENEZUELA RAID
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is facing backlash from the MAGA base after voting with Democrats and a small group of Republican senators to advance a war powers resolution related to Venezuela. (Chip Somodevilla)
Days later, on Jan. 8, the Senate advanced a bipartisan war powers resolution by a 52–47 vote that would require the president to seek congressional authorization before engaging U.S. armed forces in «hostilities within or against Venezuela.» The procedural vote set up a full Senate vote slated for Wednesday.
Hawley joined Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Todd Young, R-Ind., in voting with Democrats to require Trump obtain congressional approval prior to military action in Venezuela, sparking condemnation and surprise from the MAGA base on social media earlier in January.
«The Republicans who sided with Democrats today on the War Powers resolution are STUPID & WEAK,» former campaign aide Alex Bruesewitz posted to X following the procedural vote. «It came as no surprise to see Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, or Todd Young vote against President Trump, they’ve all shown clear signs of Trump Derangement Syndrome in the past.»
Bruesewitz added that he was «surprised and disappointed» by Hawley for aligning «himself with the anti-Trump faction and Democrats, particularly since he represents Missouri, one of the most staunchly pro-Trump states in the nation.»
«Shameful,» he added.
Hawley previously defended his procedural vote by framing it as a constitutional issue rather than a rebuke of the administration.
«My read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it,» Hawley posted to X explaining the vote.
The Trump administration carried out a successful operation in Venezuela Jan. 3, capturing Nicolás Maduro and his wife. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital spoke to a longtime Republican campaign operative working on midterm races, who said Hawley has broken with the administration over a handful of issues, and compared him to former Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who frequently take shots at the president and his policies and draw media attention.
DEMOCRATS’ OWN WORDS BACK UP TRUMP ACTION IN VENEZUELA, TOP INTEL LAWMAKER SAYS
«It seems like every other month he does something that’s opposed to the president and the party more broadly,» the source said.
Trump needs two of the five Republicans to switch their positions ahead of Wednesday’s vote. The president put the five senators on notice following the procedural vote, warning on social media that they «should never be elected to office again.»
Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro addresses supporters in Caracas, Venezuela, on Dec. 10, 2025. (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief,» he wrote earlier in January. «In any event, and despite their ‘stupidity,’ the War Powers Act is Unconstitutional, totally violating Article II of the Constitution, as all Presidents, and their Departments of Justice, have determined before me.»
MAGA allies echoed Trump’s Truth Social message in their own posts, describing Hawley as a «RINO» whose political career is allegedly teetering over the vote.
«President Trump ERUPTS on the Republican senators who just voted to approve the War Powers resolution that would rein in his Venezuela operations, says NEVER ELECT THEM AGAIN,» Eric Daughtery posted to X Jan. 8.
«Remember this in November. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again! We are sick of compromised GOP dirtbags going against our President,» another MAGA-aligned social media account, Farm Girl Carrie, posted.
Hawley told Fox News Tuesday, when asked how he plans to vote, that he’s spoken with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and DOJ officials about his top concern of having American troops on the ground.
He said they «assured me there are no ground troops in Venezuela» and that there «are not going to be ground troops in Venezuela.»
«My big concern has been ground troops in Venezuela and, making sure that if there’s going to be ground troops in Venezuela, (which) I would hope we would not do, that Congress authorizes that. But I will tell you, I’ve talked to the president. I talked to the secretary of state. I talked to the Department of Justice here in the last few days and have had tremendous conversations in the Secretary of State, who I just talked to recently, assured me there are no ground troops in Venezuela. There are not going to be ground troops in Venezuela,» he said. «The administration will notify Congress, will seek congressional approval where necessary.»
Hawley has drawn Trump’s ire before, including during a fight over Hawley’s stock-trading ban proposal in July. Trump, who previously said he liked the idea «conceptually,» accused Hawley of siding with Democrats to block a GOP-backed effort tied to reviewing Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading.
«Why would one ‘Republican,’ Senator Josh Hawley from the Great State of Missouri, join with all of the Democrats to block a Review, sponsored by Senator Rick Scott, and with the support of almost all other Republicans, of Nancy Pelosi’s Stock Trading over the last 25 years. The information was inappropriately released just minutes before the Vote — Very much like SABOTAGE!» Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, introduced the bipartisan bill during a news conference Tuesday. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hawley has also broken with the administration on domestic policy, repeatedly criticizing Medicaid reforms included in Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» back in 2025, even as he ultimately voted in favor of the sweeping package when it came to the Senate floor.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP REBELS DEFY TRUMP AS CONGRESSIONAL GRIP CONTINUES TO WEAKEN ACROSS MULTIPLE VOTES
The Republican campaign operative said it is unclear why Hawley has broken with the administration on certain policies, speculating he might have 2028 aspirations.
President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, right, speaks to the press following U.S. military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 3, 2026. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
«The polling I’ve seen shows that Republicans are in favor of the president’s actions in Venezuela,» the sourced added. «He would be out of step with our voters. I don’t think it’d bode well for him. I think this was one of the most unifying moments on the right, when the president successfully arrested Maduro and took him out the country. Him siding with the Democrats is bizarre.»
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«How has that worked out for Rand Paul or Massie,» the operative said, referring to Kentucky lawmakers’ ongoing policy spats with the president and administration.
donald trump,senate,venezuelan political crisis,politics
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