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In a piece of legislation that is loaded with moral wrongs, it takes a lot to stand out. In the Republican tax cut bill that gives massive tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans while taking healthcare and food away from those with the least, House Republicans put an obscure provision into the legislation that would basically allow the Trump administration to ignore federal court orders.
This is not an issue that belongs in a tax cut bill and appears to violate the rules of reconciliation, where the legislation can pass with a majority vote as long as it relates to the budget.
Allowing the administration to ignore federal court orders is not a budgetary issue, which is a point that has been taken up by Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
The Democratic Senators from Virginia wrote in a joint statement:
The reason district courts are blocking many of President Trump’s actions is because these actions are illegal. Presidents are not kings, no American is above the law, and House Republicans’ attack on checks and balances through this obscure provision hidden in their partisan tax bill is irresponsible and cowardly.
Now it’s up to our Republican counterparts here in the Senate to figure out two things – first, how the heck this provision is even relevant to a tax bill; and second, whether they have the courage and the respect for the U.S. Constitution to vote this down.
The inclusion of the provision was a cowardly act by Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans. There is also the suspicion that it was placed in the bill in the hope that no one would notice, or it would be forgotten in the midst of a time crunch and left in the final legislation.
The odds are that this provision would survive the review process in the Senate and will be removed from the legislation, but Democrats and the American people should not take any chances.
Make sure that Republicans remove the provision from the bill by doing what Warner and Kaine are doing. Democrats and the American people must pressure Republicans to get it out.
The Republican Party will use any piece of legislation to attack the separation of powers, so nothing should be taken for granted. The ignore the courts part of the tax bill must be gone.
What do you think about Warner and Kaine’s statement? Let’s talk about it in the comments below.
