Protests break out in Senate ahead of tax bill vote

Protesters disrupted the Senate chamber early Wednesday just before the Senate was set to vote on the final GOP tax bill.

Chants of “kill the bill, don’t kill us” could be heard as the Senate clerk took roll before the final vote.

The process had to be stopped more than once by Vice President Pence as multiple protesters were escorted from the gallery.

One protester reportedly shouted “Jeff Flake, have you no decency? Have you no shame?”

Five distinct waves of protests interrupt Senate tax vote. One protester: “Jeff Flake..have you no decency? Have you no shame?”

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 20, 2017

The Senate protests follow similar protests in the House on Tuesday ahead of its vote on the tax bill.

{mosads}House Republicans passed the final version of the GOP tax bill on Tuesday, and the Senate is expected to follow suit early Wednesday following hours of debate.

The bill lowers the top individual tax rate from 39.6 percent to 37 percent and slashes the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

The House will have to revote on the bill Wednesday after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that three provisions in the bill violated Senate rules.

A new CNN poll, released Tuesday, found 55 percent of Americans oppose the GOP tax bill.