Should-Read: Andrew Prokop: Senate tax reform vote count: key Republicans to watch: "At least 10 GOP senators have expressed some concerns about the current Senate bill...
...Now McConnell is trying to win over these holdouts by modifying the bill to meet their concerns.... The next big step is a procedural vote in the Senate Budget Committee.... Two GOP senators who’ve expressed concerns... Ron Johnson... Bob Corker... and if either votes “no,” the bill would be stopped... for the time being.... [After] committee, McConnell would then have to round up 50 votes to get it through the full Senate. Since no Democratic support is expected, that would entail winning 50 of 52 Republicans. Any three defections would likely kill the bill. Here, then, are the key GOP senators who need to be won over....
Retiring deficit hawks with nothing to lose: Bob Corker and Jeff Flake.... The quieter, non-retiring deficit hawks: Jerry Moran, James Lankford, Todd Young.... They’ll naturally feel more pressure to support their party’s top legislative priority. Additionally, none of them have much of a history of bucking GOP leadership. Still, for the time being, they do need to be won over.... The pass-through-ers: Ron Johnson and Steve Daines.... The moderates: Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.... The wild card: John McCain...
