GOP tax plan clears big hurdle

THE REPUBLICAN tax plan passed a key procedural vote Wednesday.

The Senate agreed to begin debating the GOP bill, laying the groundwork for a final vote on the plan by week’s end.

The Republican-controlled Senate approved the procedural measure by a 52-48 vote along party lines.

President Trump plugged the plan in Missouri Wednesday, telling an adoring crowd that the GOP bill will cost him and other affluent Americans “a fortune.”

“I have some very wealthy friends, not so happy with me, but that’s OK,” he told the laughing crowd.

But Trump’s claims stand in contrast to the reality of the contentious bill.The plan disproportionately favors wealthy Americans like Trump, with a clear majority of its benefits going to those in the highest tax brackets, according to a study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of the middle class would see a tax hike by 2027 under the Senate plan, according to the same study.