GOP will cut taxes while it can

   Brawner

With President Trump in the White House and Republicans having majorities in both the House and Senate, one party will control the two lawmaking branches of government next year. History shows that probably won’t last long.

That being the case, the party will seek to extend the tax cuts it passed in 2017 while it can, and also because it faces a deadline to do so.

As described by the Pew Research Center, one-party control of the White House and Congress, which was common throughout much of the 20th century, has since become a rarity. In fact, it’s existed a total of only 10 years since Ronald Reagan became president in 1981 until now, the end of the Biden administration.

George W. Bush had it through the middle four of his eight years. The other four recent presidents — Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, first-term Donald Trump and Joe Biden — entered office with their party gaining control of both the House and Senate, and within two years that was no longer the case.

That could happen again now that Trump is entering office with congressional majorities on his side. The party that wins the presidential race tends to lose congressional seats in the midterm elections because the other party’s voters are more motivated. Republicans seem likely to maintain their Senate majority, now 53-47, in 2026. They’re only defending one seat in a state that Trump lost in this year’s election. But the Republicans’ House majority is so thin – 220-214 with one vacant seat – that Democrats need only to gain four seats to regain control.

Elected officials want to use their power while they still have it. During the two years when Obama had both houses of Congress, Democrats went big and enacted Obamacare. During Biden’s first two years, he and congressional Democrats (with some Republicans) passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. They also passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which in reality was a huge green energy bill.

What will Republicans do during their probably limited time in power? Probably the same thing they did last time. In 2017, Republicans under Trump passed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which lowered individual and corporate income tax rates significantly. All six members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation voted for it.

Most of its provisions expire at the end of 2025, so Congress will have to vote either to extend them, make them permanent or let them expire. The latter in effect would be a tax increase, which I don’t see happening under Trump. In fact, in the presidential campaign he called for additionally ending taxes on tips and Social Security.

Tax cuts are an easy thing for members of Congress to vote for. Voters, donors and lobbyists like them, and they can create economic growth.

But the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — one of the few groups advocating for fiscal responsibility — says extending the cuts would increase the federal budget deficit $4.5 trillion over 10 years versus what would happen if they expired.

When President Trump and congressional Republicans cut taxes in 2017, they did not offset it with spending cuts. Then COVID hit. The national debt grew quickly, like it did under other recent presidents, Republican and Democrat. The day Trump took office, it was $19.95 trillion. The day he left, it was $27.75 trillion. Biden leaves office with it having grown another $8 trillion.

The debt recently exceeded $36 trillion and is now equal to $107,000 for every American. Last year’s federal budget deficit — a single year’s red ink — was $1.8 trillion, which was $138 billion more than the previous year.

If Congress were being fiscally responsible, it either would not extend the tax cuts, or it would pair them with even larger spending cuts. In fact, it would cut spending first, and probably increase taxes rather than continue to indebt our grandchildren.

But responsibility is hard, and it tends to be viewed negatively by those same voters, donors and lobbyists who like tax cuts. Few in the media, particularly the partisan cable TV media and YouTube influencers, talk about it.

Responsibility also takes time. More than two years, actually.

••• Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 17 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac. com.