Under Trump, a unified Congress could push through tax and spending cuts

Summary

• Potential control of Congress gives Trump great leeway to govern
• Trump’s proposed tax cuts could raise national debt by $7.5 trillion, a nonpartisan analysis shows
• 60-vote filibuster rule could face challenge

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s Republicans looked set on Wednesday to possibly win control of both chambers of Congress, giving them sweeping powers for the first time in eight years to ram through a broad agenda of tax and spending cuts, energy deregulation and border security controls.
But it would also force them to confront the dilemma of pursuing a Trump policy plan that could undermine the party’s long-proclaimed goal of reining in the government’s $35 trillion in debt.

Early priorities are expected to include extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, funding the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, cutting unspent funds allocated by Democrats, eliminating the Department of Education and curbing the powers of agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to Republican lawmakers and aides.

The tax cut proposals Trump made on the campaign trail – from extending the 2017 tax cuts to abolishing tax on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits – could add $7.5 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.