House blocks Dem resolution on Trump’s tax returns

House Republicans on Wednesday voted to block a Democratic resolution to demand President Trump’s tax returns, for the fourth time in as many weeks.

The Democratic effort failed on a procedural vote of 230-189, with one lawmaker voting present.

Democrats intend to force a vote on Trump’s returns every week until the April 18 tax-filing deadline. They want to keep forcing Republicans to go on the record about Trump, particularly those who are vulnerable in the 2018 midterms and have themselves called on Trump to release his returns.

{mosads}Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) on Monday offered a resolution that would direct the House to request Trump’s tax returns so that the House Ways and Means Committee could review them in a closed session. At that time, he was cut off by the Republican lawmaker presiding over the House.

On Wednesday, Polis and other Democrats argued that the resolution is a “privileged” measure affecting the dignity of the House. Privileged resolutions have to be acted on within two legislative days.

But Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) ruled that the resolution is not privileged. The House then voted to table an appeal of that ruling.

In previous weeks, Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) offered similar resolutions on the House floor, and they met the same result.

Trump is the first president in decades to not make his tax returns public. He has said he won’t release his returns while he’s under audit, but the IRS has said that audits don’t bar people from releasing their own tax information.

The issue of Trump’s tax returns was again thrust into the spotlight last week when MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported on a leaked partial copy of Trump’s 2005 federal tax return. The two-page document showed that Trump made more than $150 million that year and paid about $38 million in taxes.