GOP Senators Block Dems' Bid to Halt Trump IRS Deal

A Republican-led Senate panel just gave a green light to keep alive a controversial Trump tax deal, while Democrats cried foul. On Thursday, GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee won a 14-13 vote along party lines to block a Democratic amendment that would've stopped the Trump administration from moving forward with an agreement limiting IRS audits of the president and his family, Politico reports. Republican Chair Mike Crapo argued that the overarching tax-administration bill in play shouldn't be turned into a partisan vehicle, warning it might otherwise collapse.

The broader measure, which overhauls IRS operations, later passed 26-1, with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren the lone "no," calling the arrangement unique and corrupt. "No other taxpayer, ever, has gotten this kind of a deal," Warren noted. "I cannot support a bill that rubber-stamps Donald Trump's corruption. Congress needs to stand up and put a stop to it." On X, she added that the deal was akin to "corruption on steroids," per the progressive Common Dreams. Republicans like Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who are in theory against the immunity deal, say they're already pushing for tweaks behind the scenes to narrow the audit protections, as Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination hangs in the balance.