MOMENTOUS WEEK – AT 11:38 A.M. ET:  It's holiday time, when things usually slow down in Washington, but not this year, and not this week.  The GOP Senate tax-cut bill is up for a vote.  If all goes well, it will pass, and the House and Senate will then meet to reconcile their two versions of tax reform, the two houses will pass that, the president will sign, and...if all goes well.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Monday changes to the Republican tax bill are coming, as he looks to win over holdout GOP senators in an effort to pass the package by the end of the year.

In a morning tweet, the president said, "With just a few changes, some mathematical, the middle class and job producers can get even more in actual dollars and savings."

Trump is suggesting openness to making unspecified changes to the way millions of "pass-through" businesses are taxed, a sticking point for some lawmakers.

Trump and Republicans have set as a vital political goal passage of tax overhaul legislation by the end of the year. The House recently passed a $1.5 trillion bill. Senate GOP leaders hope to muscle their bill through this week. The package blends a sharp reduction in top corporate and business tax rates with more modest relief for individuals.

Trump was set to meet Monday afternoon with five members of the Senate Finance Committee who are on board with the GOP plan. He will travel to Capitol Hill Tuesday to personally lobby Republican senators.

COMMENT:  It's far from a done deal.  There are still enough Republican holdouts to sink the bill in the Senate.  And the president has made enemies where he should have made friends.  There will be heavy negotiating this week.  We should know within a week or so whether the Republican senators can unite and get the Senate version through a vote.

November 27,  2017