It's Trump's economy now
Republicans' political fortunes are likely to rise or fall based on the impact of the tax bill.
By BEN WHITE 12/20/2017 06:45 PM EST
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are about to own the U.S. economy in ways that could revive their party’s brand or make the next three years a political nightmare.
The president and GOP leaders were all smiles on Wednesday, celebrating passage of a giant tax cut bill that will slash corporate rates and offer more limited relief to individuals. They are counting on the widely unpopular measure to produce a series of economic benefits including faster growth, fatter paychecks and a bigger, more productive labor force. And they believe it will bring an end to companies shifting profits and production offshore.
“This is going to mean that companies are going to be coming back,” Trump said, as giddy Republicans beamed at him on the White House steps on a sunny December afternoon. “We are making America great again.” Essentially, Republicans are betting they can take the fairly strong economy Trump inherited from President Barack Obama and fix the remaining broken parts which include a shrunken labor force, limited wage gains and stalled worker productivity.
If they succeed, the GOP could start to reverse their big polling disadvantages in the 2018 midterm elections and set Trump up to win reelection in 2020 if he can somehow navigate the Russia investigations and avoid major foreign policy disasters.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/20/gop-tax-bill-trumps-economy-now-311024?lo=ap_a1