WASHINGTON — Uncertainty gripped the Senate on Wednesday over efforts to pass a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax cut after a Wisconsin Republican became the first senator in his party to declare that he could not vote for the tax bill as written, and other senators expressed serious misgivings over the cost and effect on the middle class.
The House is set on Thursday to pass its own version of the tax bill, which would cut taxes by more than $1.4 trillion over 10 years and broadly rewrite the business tax code. But as with the health care debate earlier this year, the Senate emerged as the inconstant ally in President Trump’s pursuit of a major legislative accomplishment in his first year.
Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, came out against both chambers’ tax plans on Wednesday, saying that the bills favor corporations over small businesses and other so-called pass-through entities, whose owners pay taxes on profits through the tax code for individuals.
“These businesses truly are the engines of innovation and job creation throughout our economy, and they should not be left behind,’’ he said in a statement. “Unfortunately, neither the House nor Senate bill provide fair treatment, so I do not support either in their current versions.’’
Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Bob Corker of Tennessee have voiced their own concerns about the tax overhaul and have not committed to voting for the tax bill.
“I’m still working with folks to see if there’s some way to be assured as it relates to the deficit issue that we’re not going to create harm,’’ Corker said. “There’s other senators who themselves want to ensure that we’re doing something to strengthen our country relative to the deficits.’’
He added, “I’m not a yes, I’m not a no.’’
With the likely success in the House, the fate of the overhaul fell into the hands of Republican senators, who grappled with the dangerous political prospects of passing a bill that critics said could undermine the health care system and favors companies over the middle class.
The Senate has played the spoiler before: The House passed a repeal of the Affordable Care Act in May, only to see it fail in the Senate twice.
Republican and Democratic senators clashed on Wednesday over changes the Republicans had made to their tax legislation late Tuesday night, including adding a provision to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most people have health coverage or pay a penalty. Republicans also made the tax cuts for individuals temporary, to comply with Senate procedural rules requiring that the tax plan not add to the deficit after a decade.
Senate Republicans, eager for a major legislative achievement, have generally been enthusiastic about the tax overhaul. But given the party’s slim 52-48 majority in the Senate, the reluctance of even a handful of Republican senators has left open the possibility that the tax bill will be further changed or face failure.
Beyond Johnson, the support of several other Republican senators was not assured, including the three who killed the party’s effort to repeal the health law this summer: Collins, Senator John McCain of Arizona, and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
“I want to see the whole package before I make a decision,’’ McCain said.
On Wednesday, Collins expressed concern that middle-income consumers could see their tax cut erased by an increase in health insurance premiums caused by the repeal of the requirement that most people have insurance, known as the individual mandate.
