Democrats Erupt In Anger After 'Corrupt' Tax Bill Passes The Senate
Democratic senators unleashed their anger on Twitter after Republicans voted to pass their tax bill through the Senate shortly before 2 a.m. on Saturday.
Senate Republicans voted to pass the controversial bill, a rewrite of the current tax code, after senators debated the bill all day Friday. Democrats, who maintain that the bill unfairly benefits only the very wealthy, had received a final copy of the nearly 500-page bill just hours before the vote took place.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attempted to push a vote on the bill to Monday so Democrats would have enough time to read it thoroughly. Republicans voted against the delay.
Many Democratic senators said they weren’t able to read the entire draft of the tax rewrite, which contained handwritten notes and crossed-out pages, ahead of the vote. Others promised they would keep fighting against the bill, which still needs to be reconciled with the House version before it becomes law.
“This Congress doesn’t work for working families,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted early Saturday morning. “It works for corporate lobbyists & campaign donors in backroom deals & 1:30 a.m. votes.”
She added, “This corruption is hollowing out America’s middle class & tearing down our democracy.”
This Congress doesn’t work for working families. It works for corporate lobbyists & campaign donors in backroom deals & 1:30 AM votes. This corruption is hollowing out America’s middle class & tearing down our democracy.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 2, 2017
Working families are already on the ropes – and this #GOPTaxScam is another punch in the gut. We must keep fighting back with everything we’ve got to stop them from delivering the knockout blow.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 2, 2017
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) warned that the bill “will haunt America for decades to come.”
Let’s be clear: what just happened is a brazen move to rig our political system and our economy to work not for “We the People,” but for “We the Powerful.” If the #GOPTaxScam is allowed to become law, it will haunt America for decades to come.
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) December 2, 2017
Here’s what the GOP just voted for:
- Raising taxes on millions of working Americans
- Ripping health care away from 13 million
- Showering massive giveaways on the richest and most powerful#GOPTaxScam is a disgrace.— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) December 2, 2017
See how other Senate Democrats responded to Saturday’s vote below.
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The 1% are dancing in the streets tonight. Disgusting, disgusting outcome for millions of Americans who will suffer under this bill. We won't give up the fight.
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) December 2, 2017
The #GOPTaxScam promises relief for all, but massive permanent tax cuts go mostly to corporations and the wealthy, while the crumbs to the middle class are small and temporary. It imposes a mountain of debt on our children and grandchildren.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) December 2, 2017
This bill drives deeper divisions – creating more income inequality and uncertainty, engendering increased anger and anxiety, and undermining democracy. The feeble claim that it will spur jobs and economic growth is magical thinking – delusion or deception at an enormous price.
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) December 2, 2017
The tax plan approved tonight by my Republican colleagues is shameful. This is a victory for corporations and the top 1% of Americans, not teachers, not seniors, and certainly not the middle class.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) December 2, 2017
The American people deserve to know who’s on their side. Tonight, Senate Republicans gave them a shameful answer.
We will be holding them accountable. This isn’t over—I’m not done fighting like hell. -SB— Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) December 2, 2017
In 1986, under President Reagan, accomplishing tax reform in Congress took years of public hearings and bipartisan negotiations. That open process and fastidious work reaped bipartisan agreement and long-lasting policy.
It stands in stark contrast to what we've witnessed today.— Senator Tom Carper (@SenatorCarper) December 2, 2017
I opposed Mitch McConnell’s bill because it is not tax reform, it’s a partisan tax hike on Indiana’s middle class and it does nothing to prevent outsourcing of US jobs to foreign countries. -Joehttps://t.co/k6UMhjeRLW
— Senator Joe Donnelly (@SenDonnelly) December 2, 2017
This disgraceful legislation will hurt working families in WA and across the country if it becomes law. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to.
Republicans still have a chance to make this right. This fight isn’t over.https://t.co/pGuAffZEu6— Senator Patty Murray (@MurrayCampaign) December 2, 2017
I urge Republicans to stand on the right side of history, stand up to President Trump, and step back from this shameful tax plan. They owe it to families across the nation who are counting on Congress to do the right thing.
— Senator Patty Murray (@MurrayCampaign) December 2, 2017
51 Senate Republicans voted to commit one of the biggest legislative heists in history. Robbed millions of middle class Americans to give giant tax cuts to corporations—and many foreign stockholders. Their donors will clink champagne glasses while others will pick up the tab.
— Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) December 2, 2017
I’m mad. And sad. We need to work together, compromise, and produce thoughtful results for frustrated families. Not a one-party-behind-closed-doors-no-time-to-debate-no-hearing-jam-it-through-in the-middle-of -the-night-mess.
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) December 2, 2017
I’m furious, but this fight is not over.
In the days and weeks to come, I’ll do everything I possibly can to ensure this embarrassment of a tax bill never becomes law.— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) December 2, 2017
Ok, that was awful. But tomorrow we dust ourselves off and get back in the fight.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) December 2, 2017
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.