Conservative commentator Ann Coulter slammed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for demanding a child tax credit increase in the final tax-reform bill, accusing him of wanting single people to subsidize “happy families.”
“We singles live empty lives of quiet desperation and will die alone,” Coulter tweeted. “Now Rubio is demanding that we also fund happy families with children who fill their days with joy.”
Rubio on Thursday threatened to vote against the tax bill unless the child tax credit is made more generous.
“Right now it’s only $1,100. It needs to be higher than that,” he told reporters.
{mosads}”I understand that this is a process of give and take, especially when there’s only a couple of us fighting for it,” Rubio continued. “Given all the other changes they’ve made in the tax code leading into it, I can’t in good conscience support it unless we are able to increase the refundable portion of it.”
A spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said Thursday that he is also undecided on the bill in its current form. Lee worked with Rubio on a previously-propped expansion of the child tax credit.
Less than a day after Rubio’s threat, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) told reporters that the Republican tax bill would increase the refundable tax credit to $1,400 in attempt to win Rubio’s vote.
It’s unclear whether the change will be enough to earn Rubio’s vote in support of the bill. House and Senate members have been in conference committee since last week working on the final version of the bill, the full text of which is expected to be released Friday.