A lynch pin of President Trump’s nationalist agenda looks dead on arrival in the Senate.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Trump’s proposed “border adjustment tax” stands little chance of being approved by the upper chamber.
Calls for such a levy served as part of the Trump campaign’s broadsides against free trade agreements and the deindustrialization of the United States.
“It probably wouldn’t pass the Senate,” McConnell told Bloomberg news on Tuesday, referring to the border tax.
“The Secretary of the Treasury, and [Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)] and myself are trying to reach an agreement on a proposal that we can all agree to start with,” he said. “We haven’t reached that agreement yet, but we will at some point.”
“Border adjustability is a pretty controversial thing in the Senate, but we’ll see what’s in the final thing we agree to,” McConnell added.
The admission came in the wake of increased scrutiny on the Trump administration. On Monday afternoon, The Washington Post reported that Trump last week revealed highly-classified information to top Russian officials — Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
Specifically, Trump reportedly divulged intelligence, provided by an ally, about Islamic State plots. Administration officials denied claims that the move jeopardized American “sources and methods,” but could not refute the substance of the Post’s allegations. On Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times reported that the information came from the Israeli government.
McConnell reacted to the initial Post story by calling for “less drama” from the White House.
“I’ve heard the allegation. I’ve heard the response,” he told Bloomberg. “I don’t think I have anything to add to what I’ve read in terms of the impact of this in the future.”
McConnell also reacted to last week’s “drama”–the firing of now-former FBI Director James Comey–by calling for Merrick Garland to lead the Bureau.
A federal appellate judge, Garland had been nominated to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the February 2016 death of Antonin Scalia. Senate Republicans, led by McConnell, stopped Garland from even receiving a confirmation hearing.
“I think the most important thing is for the president to pick somebody who’s apolitical, who clearly has a deep law enforcement background,” McConnell said. He noted that Garland “was the prosecutor in the Oklahoma City Bombing case.”
Whatever the cause of the “drama” in Washington, it appears that the Trump administration is casting a pall over Republicans’ fortunes.
In the wake of the House healthcare reform passage on May 4, Public Policy Polling found that Democrats’ lead on a “generic Congressional ballot” has nearly doubled — from 47-41, last month, to 49-38.
The bill’s passage was vociferously celebrated by the White House, which hosted a party after the vote to commemorate the bill’s advancement.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $110,000 in one-time donations and to add 1350 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy