WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the tax plan in Congress (all times local):
4:10 p.m.
President Donald Trump will be holding a series of weekend meetings with Cabinet members at Camp David.
A White House spokeswoman said Saturday that Trump would meet with Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin as the Republican-led Congress plans to vote on its tax bill.
Trump will also meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Housing and Urban Development head Ben Carson, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin.
Trump is set to return to the White House on Sunday afternoon.
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1 p.m.
President Donald Trump is defending the Republicans’ tax cut plan, pushing back against criticism that it will benefit the wealthy more than the middle class.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Saturday before leaving for Camp David, Trump said the middle class will benefit because the tax cut will draw companies back from overseas, creating jobs.
The GOP plans to muscle the bill through Congress next week.
Trump touted the nation’s economy, predicting that it would “start to rock” once the bill is passed.
Trump also predicted that economic growth could go from the current 3 percent to “4, 5 and maybe even 6 percent ultimately.”
Many economists doubt that even a sustained 4 percent growth rate is achievable.
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3:10 a.m.
Republicans seem to have secured the votes to pass a tax overhaul that President Donald Trump hopes to sign before Christmas.
Here’s what House Speaker Paul Ryan says: “This is happening. Tax reform under Republican control of Washington is happening.”
It’s the widest-ranging reshaping of the tax system in three decades and is expected to add $1.46 trillion to the nation’s debt over a decade.
The GOP plans to muscle it through Congress next week before its year-end break.
Under the bill, today’s 35 percent rate on corporations would fall to 21 percent. The legislation would lower taxes on the richest Americans. Benefits for most other taxpayers would be smaller.
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