McConnell ‘almost certain’ GOP will pass tax reform

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Wednesday that it’s “almost certain” Republicans will be able to pass a tax-reform plan, as lawmakers are gearing up for negotiations over the House and Senate bills.

“Well, almost certain. I mean, I can’t imagine having come this far we’re not going to finish the job,” he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. 

The Senate is expected to vote on Wednesday to go to conference on their tax legislation, after the House held a similar vote on Monday.

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McConnell reiterated that Republicans will be able to get a bill to President Trump’s desk before Christmas, noting the House and Senate versions “are really very similar.”

“We’ll have to have a conference with the House yet ahead of us and work out the differences, but the core of the two bills are really very similar. And I think we’ll be able to do that in fairly short order,” he said.

Senate Republicans have a thin margin to get the final bill through the upper chamber. With a 52-seat majority, McConnell can only afford to lose two GOP senators.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) was the only GOP senator to vote against the Senate bill, though differences remain with the House legislation.