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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.»
FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY RESTRICTS DOGE ACCESS TO PERSONALIZED SOCIAL SECURITY DATA
«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.
WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION
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
INTERNACIONAL
Qué es la Fuerza Quds, el cuerpo de elite iraní que organiza los ataques en el exterior
“Ya no estarán a salvo en ningún lugar del mundo”. La amenaza la hizo la Fuerza Quds, el cuerpo de elite encargado de las operaciones en el exterior de los Guardianes de la Revolución de Irán. Así, puso en alerta máxima a cualquier eventual activo de los Estados Unidos e Israel en el mundo, incluso en la Argentina, socio estratégico de los gobiernos de Donald Trump y Benjamin Netanyahu.
La amenaza se materializó en el tercer día de la guerra y a poco más de tres meses del comienzo del Mundial de fútbol en Estados Unidos, Canadá y México, el principal evento masivo que tendrá lugar en el planeta este año y que se desarrollará mayormente en territorio estadounidense. La selección iraní está clasificada, aunque a esta altura su participación es una incógnita.
Leé también: Irán: los tres desafíos que tiene la oposición en el exilio para intentar tomar el poder
En un comunicado, esa fuerza especial iraní advirtió que no descansará “hasta que el enemigo sea derrotado. Ya no estarán a salvo en ningún lugar del mundo, ni siquiera en sus propios hogares”.
A la Fuerza Quds se le atribuye la organización del atentado terrorista a la mutual judía AMIA en 1994 que causó 85 muertos.
Qué es la Fuerza Quds
La Fuerza Quds es un poderoso brazo paramilitar de élite del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica (IRGC), la organización militar más grande de Irán. Es considerado un grupo terrorista por Estados Unidos. Su nombre significa Jerusalén en farsi y árabe.
“Las Fuerzas Quds son las que operan en el exterior. Pertenece a la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica y son las encargadas de supervisar, abastecer, entrenar y a veces también actuar, tanto con grupos terroristas aliados de Irán en Medio Oriente como en todo el mundo. Son los que hacen la avanzada” en el terreno, dijo a TN el analista internacional Mauro Enbe. Irán lanzó una nueva advertencia con EE.UU.: “No van a estar a salvo en ningún lugar del mundo”. (Foto: EFE)
“La amenaza era completamente esperable para mostrar poder frente a Estados Unidos e Israel. Habrá que estar atento a cualquier situación que podría pasar. No sé cómo estará la situación cuando sea el Mundial. Esta es una amenaza que busca provocar miedo en la población”, añadió el especialista.
Y afirmó: “Lamentablemente, como han hecho en otras ocasiones, enseguida salta la alerta respecto de eventos masivos e instituciones judías no necesariamente israelíes, lo que demuestra el carácter antisemita de todo esto”.
Leé también: Irán busca extender la guerra para desgastar a Trump, mientras pone en marcha la sucesión de Ali Jamenei
Said Chaya, director del Núcleo de Estudios en Medio Oriente y profesor de la Universidad Austral, dijo a TN que Quds actúa “como una diplomacia paralela en materia de defensa con ciertos grupos no estatales de Medio Oriente”.
“Esto lo pone por afuera del control del presidente y lo deja en manos del líder supremo. Es como una fuerza de depuración en manos del líder supremo”, resumió.
Cuántos miembros tienen las milicias de Quds
La fuerza Quds fue comandada desde 1998 por Qasem Soleimani, asesinado en un ataque estadounidense en enero de 2020. Se trataba de uno de los personajes más influyentes de Irán.
El grupo actúa de manera encubierta, aunque no siempre, en distintos puntos del planeta. Según la BBC, “se lo vincula con el grupo Hezbolláh del Líbano y las milicias chiítas en Irak y en Afganistán. Es un importante instrumento de la política exterior iraní. Muchos la describen como una combinación de las fuerzas de operaciones especiales y la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA) estadounidese”.
A este grupo de elite se le atribuyen distintos atentados en numerosas partes del mundo. De hecho, el general de brigada Ahmad Vahidi, nuevo comandante en jefe del Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica, planeó el atentado a la AMIA cuando era comandante de las Fuerzas Quds. Hoy está prófugo de la justicia argentina.
Washington acusó a Quds de armar al antiguo gobierno sirio de Bashar al Assad y hasta los talibanes afganos.
Distintas estimaciones le atribuyen entre 5000 y hasta más de 10.000 miembros reclutados de acuerdo con sus habilidades y el grado de lealtad a la Revolución Islámica.
Su principal misión, según la inteligencia occidental, es ayudar a establecer milicias proiraníes y fuerzas de combate en países de la región.
Irán, Israel, Donald Trump
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President Donald Trump bestowed the Medal of Honor to three U.S. Army soldiers Monday, in a White House ceremony honoring their «unsurpassed courage.»
The president touted the «three really incredible American heroes — one living and two no longer with us.»
The president posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Master Sgt. Roderick (Roddie) W. Edmonds; posthumously awarded the medal to Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis and awarded the medal to Command Sergeant Major Terry P. Richardson.
The president, Monday, first introduced the award for Edmonds.
President Donald Trump speaking before participating in a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press )
«In 1941, Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee, enlisted in the US Army and soon rose to one of the youngest master sergeants in the military,» the president said. «In 1944, he sailed to Europe vim and vigor, Roddie soon found himself on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge. That was a big one, massively outnumbered by enemy forces, his 1,200 soldier unit fought valiantly until they were completely overrun. The force was massive on the other side. … After a four day death march, one that was covered very well by the history books, through bitter cold, they were put into a German POW camp.»
The president said Edmonds «was the top ranking infantryman and the camp he was number one, meaning he was responsible for the lives of his fellow service members.»
«On July 26th, 1945, a Nazi SS officer issued an order over the camp loudspeaker, loud and strong, he said that only American Jews were to show up to roll call. Following this morning, he added all who disobey this order will be shot immediately,» the president explained. «There were more than 200 Jewish American soldiers in the camp, and Roddy knew their separation from the group would mean certain death. So that night he summoned his team and devised a plan. The next morning, all 1200 American men fell in line together, shoulder to shoulder. Enraged, the Nazi commandant rushed forward, drew his Luger pistol, and pressed the barrel between Sergeant Edmond’s eyes. He barked at Roddy, they cannot all be Jews! He screamed loud and again and again, and staring straight back into the raging face of evil, Sergeant Edmonds replied fearlessly, ‘we are all Jews here.’The Nazi officer lowered his weapon and the soldiers erupted in cheers.»
The president said that «with total disregard for his own life, Roddie had saved over 200 of his fellow service members.»
«Their camp was liberated two months later,» the president said.
The award was accepted by Edmonds’ son, Chris.
Next, the president honored Richardson.
«On September 12th, 1968, 102 brave men of Terry’s Alpha Company were tasked with securing Hill 222 deep behind the enemy’s line in Vietnam,» Trump said.
«They didn’t know it at the time, had no idea, but the area was totally infested with nearly 300 enemy bunkers and many, many enemy soldiers, far outnumbering them by at least 4- or 5-, even 6-to-1,» the president said. «As Terry led Lima Platoon up Hill 222, the enemy launched an ambitious and violent attack, unleashing a withering fire of machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. Just didn’t stop. They just kept coming, pinned down and hell on Earth.»
The president said, «Terry summoned unimaginable courage. Three times. He exposed himself to enemy fire to rescue severely wounded comrades, and three times he dragged them back to the group.»
«Terry soon realized that the 82 remaining men had one chance of survival. That was air support. Acting without regard of his own life, he grabbed the radio and charged up hill 222 alone. He needed to be there. It was the only place you’d get reception,» the president explained. «He withstood a storm of enemy bullets, eventually reaching the top where he spent the next eight hours calling in tactical strikes, completely exposed….An enemy sniper shot rang out and the bullet tore through his right leg violently. He was in bad shape, but Terry disregarded that and pushed through. And after seven more hours of calling in American fire from above, the enemy retreated.»
«Later that day, his team found him with both eardrums totally ruptured and a mangled right leg and foot, but still barely living but living nevertheless,» the president said. «Due to Terry’s actions above and beyond the call of duty 82 men, Alpha company survived this battle, including two in this room.»
The president invited Norm Meyer and Dave Hemmer to stand up.
IN MEMORY OF WORLD WAR II VETERAN LESTER TANNER: ‘WE ARE ALL JEWISH’
The president congratulated Richardson, and told him that «today you entered the ranks of the bravest warriors ever to strike the face of the earth.»
Finally, the president posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while serving in Afghanistan.
«On August 28th, 2013, terrorists detonated a 400 pound car bomb on the east wall of the Forward operating base Kinzie, ripping open a 60 foot wide breach into a compound that housed NATO coalition forces,» the president explained. «A lot of them, ten Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests swarm through from across the compound.»
«Michael saw the pillar of white smoke rising and ran to join the fight, rushing without his gear, wearing almost no gear, no Kevlar helmet, no body armor. Just one magazine in his rifle,» the president continued. «Along the way, he encountered a Polish soldier, and together they advanced under heavy fire. Very, very heavy fire. At one point, shrapnel ripped through the Polish soldier’s legs, rendering him unable to walk very, very severely hurt. In that chaos of gunfire, explosions and charred human remains, a terrorist insurgent appeared rounding a corner with his suicide vest, fully armed. And you could see it. It was going to happen.»
The president said the terrorist «charged the wounded Polish soldier without hesitation.»
«Michael raised his gun and forced himself between the insurgent and the man he just met, shielding him with his own body. He knew what was going to happen,» the president said. «He shielded him with his own body.»
«You know, bravery is amazing. You never really know who’s brave, who’s not until they’re really tested,» the president said. «We think some people are brave, and they’re not. We think others aren’t. And they are. You never know.»
But Trump said Ollis «was tested.»
«That’s called the ultimate test, right? And it perhaps his final heartbeat,» the president said. «Michael fired his weapon, and the terrorist detonated his vest. Simultaneously, staff Sergeant Ollis was killed just weeks before his 25th birthday. And nobody was any more brave than that.»
The president added: «And his final act on earth, Michael, absorbed the blast, sparing the life of that Polish warrior who we are grateful to have in the room with us today.»
The president invited Polish Second Lieutenant Carol Sarah Piqua to come to the podium.
The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who, according to the White House, «distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty.»
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The White House said the honorees are individuals who «engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.»
The White House said the conduct «must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life.»
«There must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct, and each recommendation for the award must be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit,» the White House said.
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white house,donald trump,military
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Satellite images released Monday show fires burning and vast plumes of black smoke rising from Iran’s main naval headquarters at Bandar Abbas, with at least one vessel ablaze following a strike.
The images, from Planet Labs, were released within days of the U.S. and Israel launching targeted strikes on Iran, and ahead of President Donald Trump saying he would not rule out sending U.S. troops into Iran if «necessary» amid Operation Epic Fury.
The escalation comes as commercial tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively stalled, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI.
Bandar Abbas fires rage at Iran’s main naval headquarters (PLANET LABV)
According to the Times of Israel, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander also said the Strait of Hormuz was closed Monday, with Iran claiming it would set fire to any vessel trying to pass.
Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin confirmed the Strait of Hormuz was not closed, according to CENTCOM.
Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, occupies a key position along the Strait of Hormuz and the port is a key base serving as the headquarters of the Iranian Navy.
«As of 10:56 a.m. GMT on March 2, 2026, the Port of Bandar Abbas is experiencing multiple active fires, including one aboard a berthed vessel, while maintaining a significant combined military and commercial presence at port facilities,» Windward AI reported.
FROM MISSILES TO MINERALS: THE STRATEGIC MEANING BEHIND THE IRAN STRIKE
A satellite view of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supply, connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025/Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)
«Three distinct fires are currently reported in the vicinity. Two are located at port infrastructure facilities, and one involves a vessel currently at berth.»
Seventeen military vessels and five commercial ships remained docked despite the fires, the firm said, noting that the continued military concentration suggests «a heightened defensive posture rather than evacuation.»
Windward warned that active fires at Iran’s principal naval and commercial port introduce «additional operational uncertainty» and raise the risk of secondary maritime disruption across the Gulf.
Video footage also shared by Iran International appeared to show an attack targeting Iranian naval air facilities in Bandar Abbas.
KEY MILITARY SITES TARGETED INSIDE IRAN AS PART OF COORDINATED US-ISRAELI STRIKES
Naval units from Iran and Russia simulate the rescue of a hijacked vessel during joint drills at the Port of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan, Iran, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Iranian Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Satellite imagery analyzed by BBC Verify identified a damaged vessel about 230 meters (750 feet) long — consistent, it said, with a Makran-class forward base ship operated by the Iranian Navy.
The Makran, a converted tanker measuring about 228 meters, is also a mobile maritime base and helicopter carrier capable of deploying up to five helicopters and fast-attack boats.
The strike at Iran’s naval HQ came on the third day of open conflict, with U.S. Central Command saying it had sunk 11 Iranian vessels in the Gulf of Oman.
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«Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO,» CENTCOM said on X.
Trump has said «annihilating» Iran’s naval forces is a core objective of Operation Epic Fury, and that the U.S. has destroyed nine Iranian naval ships so far.
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war with iran,us navy,iran,middle east,bombings
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