Moderate Senate Republican adds support for tax reform

Final passage of the Republicans’ tax reform bill is closer than ever, as Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), a moderate, has pledged her support for the “less than perfect” bill that she said would give “much needed tax relief.” In her speech from the Senate floor on Monday, Collins lamented the bill’s inclusion of a repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, which she said should be taken up separately. The House of Representatives is expected to pass the bill Tuesday, before the Senate takes it up, where the bill’s future is less certain. Vice President Mike Pence will be on hand to break any tie vote in the upper chamber. The GOP can only afford to lose two of its 52 votes to send the bill to President Donald Trump, who hopes to deliver tax reform as a “Christmas present.”