Democrats have no shortage of criticism for the massive Republican policy bill winding its way through Congress carrying President Trump’s agenda. It would cost too much, they contend, rip health coverage and food assistance away from too many people and strip vital support from clean energy companies.
When it comes to some of the tax cuts in the bill, however, Democrats have been less resistant. Some of them concede that they would support many of those provisions if they were not rolled into the larger piece of legislation. In recent weeks, they have taken pains to demonstrate that support.
Last month, Senator Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada, successfully moved to have the Senate unanimously approve a version of Mr. Trump’s “no tax on tips” proposal. While the effort was almost entirely symbolic — under the Constitution, the House must originate tax measures — it was still an opportunity for Democrats to go on the record backing a campaign promise of Mr. Trump’s that is broadly popular with the public.
“I am not afraid to embrace a good idea, wherever it comes from,” Ms. Rosen said on the Senate floor at the time.
The undercurrent of Democratic support for elements of the Republican tax agenda reflects the political potency of some of Mr. Trump’s campaign promises, even those that have been derided by tax policy experts. It also suggests that temporary provisions in the Republican bill, like exempting tips and overtime pay from the income tax, could ultimately become long-term features of the tax code.
And it helps to explain why Mr. Trump and Republicans chose to wrap their policy agenda into one huge bill. By pairing the palatable tax cuts — including an extension of tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year — with less savory measures, like Medicaid cuts, Republicans can make the political case that anyone who fails to support the bill is voting for a tax increase.
Democrats have long attacked Republican tax policy as primarily helping the rich, and the bill that G.O.P. lawmakers are now putting together would provide the largest benefits to wealthy Americans, while slashing programs for the poor. But the inclusion of several tax measures that could help some working-class Americans has added some wrinkles to the Democratic criticism.
“Democrats in general are very much in favor of reducing taxes on working people and the working poor,” said Representative Don Beyer, Democrat of Virginia. “Those are people living on tips.”
The areas of agreement on taxes are nowhere near substantial enough to persuade Democrats to embrace the Republican legislation, which G.O.P. leaders are pushing through Congress using special procedures that allow them to win passage without a single Democratic vote.
“Any one thing — a tax credit or a tax cut — might make sense, but you’ve got to take a look at the whole picture,” said Representative Brad Schneider, Democrat of Illinois.
And there are many tax measures in the bill, like tighter eligibility rules for credits that help low-income people, that Democrats have harshly criticized. They have also called for Republicans to raise taxes on rich Americans, an idea that Mr. Trump has toyed with but has not embraced.
But even some of the bill’s tax breaks for corporations and business owners — typical targets for liberal criticism — have in the past received Democratic praise. In some cases, Democrats have taken to arguing that Republicans are not actually going far enough to cut taxes.
Contrary to Mr. Trump’s advertisements of “no tax” on overtime or tips, Democrats have pointed out that Americans would still owe payroll taxes on those forms of income under the House-passed version of the Republican bill.
And rather than fulfill Mr. Trump’s promise of “no tax on Social Security,” the bill would provide a $4,000 increase to the standard deduction for Americans 65 and older, with the bonus shrinking for people who make more than $75,000. That would translate into a tax cut for many Americans eligible for Social Security, though plenty of seniors would still owe taxes on their government-provided benefits.
Representative John Larson, Democrat of Connecticut, said Republicans had “reneged” on Mr. Trump’s campaign promise.
At the same time, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, has panned the bill’s increase in the limit on state and local tax deduction, calling it far too low.
Mr. Schumer and other Democrats from high-tax states like New York have, for years, desperately wanted to lift the $10,000 cap, an idea that Mr. Trump endorsed during the campaign but later appeared to waffle on. They have criticized the House-passed proposal to increase it to $40,000 as inadequate, with Mr. Schumer calling it “a slap in the face” to New Yorkers.
Those complaints from Democrats could become important in 2028, when several of the new tax cuts in the legislation are slated to expire. At that point, Democrats may have more power in Congress and would have to decide whether to vote to keep this round of Trump tax cuts in place.
It would be a familiar quandary for Democrats. Back in 2017, the last time Mr. Trump and Republicans passed temporary tax cuts, Democrats unanimously opposed the legislation. But by the time Democrats had full control of Washington in 2021, they had tacitly agreed to keep many of the tax cuts in place, with President Joseph R. Biden Jr. promising to not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000.
The party tried to raise taxes on the rich and corporations — and therefore unwind some of the 2017 tax cuts — but failed to win enough support from within its ranks to do so substantially. Democrats ultimately left the 2017 tax cuts intact when they had a chance to change them.
In 2028, Democrats may find themselves again continuing Mr. Trump’s tax cuts, even if continuing to do so could add significantly to the debt.
“They’re not ideal,” said Alex Jacquez, the chief of policy and advocacy at the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive group. “But because these are the only efforts Republicans are willing to put forward to give relief to middle class families, these are things directionally Democrats would support.”
Andrew Duehren covers tax policy for The Times from Washington.
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