GOP strategist: ‘No real conservative’ should vote for the GOP tax bill

A Republican strategist slammed the GOP tax bill Thursday night, saying it is “built on a foundation of lies.”

Steve Schmidt tweeted that “no real conservative” should vote for the bill.

“This tax bill demonstrates, once again, the total collapse of all and any rigor around the policy making process in the GOP congress,” Schmidt said. “It is built on a foundation of lies. It adds more than a trillion to the debt. No real conservative should vote for this.”

This tax bill demonstrates,once again, the total collapse of all and any rigor around the policy making process in the GOP congress. It is built on a foundation of lies. It adds more than a trillion to the debt. No real conservative should vote for this

— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) November 30, 2017

{mosads}The Senate is expected to vote on the tax bill Friday, but GOP leaders have been struggling to win the support they need over the deficit increase. GOP leaders agreed Thursday night to roll back the tax package by $350 billion.

Official analysis has found that the bill will not pay for itself, and will cost about $1 trillion over a decade, prompting criticism from deficit hawks including Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)

The bill has been slammed by critics on both sides of the aisle based on analysis that it would primarily benefit wealthy Americans and corporations at the expense of middle- and low-income families, while increasing the debt.

Democrats have also raised concerns that the bill — which would cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent, double the standard deduction and add an estimated $1.4 trillion to the deficit over a decade, among other things — would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

Republicans hope to pass the bill by Christmas, marking the first major legislative victory for the administration.