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CBO score says Senate GOP tax plan would hurt poor

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, speaks to reporters following the weekly Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill. Photo: Susan Walsh / AP

The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Senate GOP tax plan shows it would hurt Americans earning less than $30,000, The Washington Post reports, and it would hurt them more than originally thought. Republicans like Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch say the bill helps everyone, regardless of income.

The cause: Those earners would be getting less government aid for health care since the bill would get rid of the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act, per the CBO.

The CBO also reports:

  • Those earning under $40,000 are all losing out with the tax bill.
  • The bill would add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, just under the $1.5 trillion limit.
  • Health insurance premiums would rise, with 4 million Americans losing insurance by 2019, a number that spikes to 13 million by 2027.
  • When the Joint Committee on Taxation only takes into account the tax impacts of the Senate bill, all income groups receive a tax cut, although in 2027, after the individual tax cuts expire, that benefit goes away.

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon —  Inflation rose more than expected in December.
  5. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Lachlan Markay
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

  • “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
  • “The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow