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FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer smiles from behind a mock U.S. Treasury check as he holds a press conference on the expanded Child Tax Credit payments at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., July 15, 2021.
Can the child tax credit extension survive the Senate?
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a $78 billion extension of the popular child tax credit by a large bipartisan majority – but now it faces a rocky road through the Senate, where it may be lumped in with another priority.
What’s in the bill? It aims to extend the credit through 2025, tie the size of disbursements to the rate of inflation, and allow parents to use their previous year’s income if it would result in a higher allowance. The bill also restores certain pandemic-era business tax breaks and curbs the employee-retention tax credit, which many fraudsters exploit.
Even getting to this point looked unlikely, as opposition from both far-right Republicans and certain Democrats forced the House to suspend the normal rules of order and pass it by a supermajority. Cooperating with Democrats on spending is a risk for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), whose predecessor Kevin McCarthy was booted by his own caucus under similar circumstances.
What happens now? Ordinarily, bipartisan consensus is easier to find in the Senate than in the House, but the child tax credit is unlikely to pass unscathed. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R - IA) put the GOP’s conundrum quite bluntly: “Passing a tax bill that makes the president look good, mailing out checks before the election, means he could be reelected and then we won’t extend the 2017 tax cuts,” due to expire next year. Who said politicians aren’t candid?
We are watching for whether Senate leadership opts to bundle the bill alongside government funding legislation that must pass by March 8, or alongside one of its other major current priorities, like Ukraine aid or a border security package.
U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) walks outside the Central Islip Federal Courthouse on the day of his hearing, in Central Islip, New York, U.S., October 27, 2023.
George Santos expelled from the House
(Updated Dec. 1) Mendacious NY Representative George Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives on Friday, by a vote of 311 to 114, with two members voting “present.” Republicans had thus far been unwilling to risk their slim House majority to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY) despite his purported lies about … pretty much everything, but an Ethics Committee report alleging extensive financial malfeasance did the trick.
The report found “substantial evidence” that Santos used campaign donations and credit card numbers stolen from donors to fund, among other expenses, luxury shopping trips, plastic surgery, casino vacations, and purchases on OnlyFans, a website where people sell sexually explicit photos and videos. He’s now facing 23 federal charges.
The House had never expelled a member in advance of a criminal conviction, and Santos survived two votes thanks to GOP members who felt keeping him in their thin majority was worth the embarrassment. But with the 2024 election approaching, Republicans worried that backing an alleged scammer wasn’t the best look, even if it means decreasing the GOP's narrow majority in the House.
“It’s especially pertinent for the New York Republicans who are trying to hold onto seats they won by slim margins in 2022,” said Eurasia Group analyst Noah Daponte-Smith. “They really don't want to be saddled with Santos and have been leading the expulsion push.”
Asked for comment after the vote, Santos said “to hell with this place” and then refused to answer further questions from reporters, claiming that he was no longer obliged as he was no longer a Congressperson.