And then there’s Murkowski, another independent-minded Republican who helped thwart Obamacare repeal. She isn’t facing re-election until 2022, relieving her from political pressure for the foreseeable future.
Collins and Murkowski were pivotal votes in scuttling the Trump-backed Obamacare legislation that Republicans tried to pass in the Senate last month.
Heller, Flake
Two Republican senators also in the spotlight are Dean Heller of Nevada and Jeff Flake of Arizona, who are seen as the most vulnerable Republicans facing re-election next year. Heller, who ran into trouble at home for early opposition to a health-care overhaul, appeared at a photo op introducing the tax framework on Sept. 27. Flake, meanwhile, faces a tough 2018 primary after his repeated and stinging criticisms of the president.
“I don’t know of a single Republican senator who defends the status quo tax code,” House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said Tuesday, when asked about the GOP’s narrow margin in the Senate. “So I fully expect each of those 52 Republican senators to weigh in in a positive way and deliver tax reform.”
Whether Trump’s feuds with senators like Corker will come back to haunt his tax agenda remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt it doesn’t advance the goal.
“Can’t be helpful,” said Jon Traub, a former Republican staff director for the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee who runs Deloitte Tax LLP.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.