McConnell on tax reform: 'we have the votes'

By Robert Laurie —— Bio and Archives December 1, 2017

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As Dan told you earlier, John Cornyn has already signaled that Republicans probably have the 50 votes needed to pass the Senate tax reform bill. Now it looks like Mitch McConnell is saying the same thing. From NBC News Producer Frank Thorp:

BREAKING: McConnell walks onto the floor and tells reporters: “We have the votes.”

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) December 1, 2017

Most people are willing to get tax reform done

Orrin Hatch has also chimed in, saying Senate Repubs are "confident" they have the 50 votes and are currently trying to get more. Earlier we'd heard that Bob Corker and Jeff Flake were still poised to cause trouble but, since then, Flake has come on board. He's promised to vote for tax reform, though immigration hawks may not like the price. Precisely what that means is anyone's guess, though there's some indication that Flake has been promised a DACA solution sometime in March. At this point, most people are willing to get tax reform done and cross that bridge when we come to it.

Flake signs on to tax bill partly in exchange for pledge by Senate GOP leadership and Truml administration “to work with me on a growth-oriented legislative solution to enact fair and permanent protections for DACA recipients.” 1/

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 1, 2017

2/ Flake spokesman @Jason_Samuels tells me that the DACA commitment came directly from @VP Pence. https://t.co/XXc69nz1MS

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 1, 2017