John Cassidy: “At this stage, the unfairness and ideological bent of the proposal are widely recognized, as is its corrupt nature. Giveaways to the wealthy and large corporations have been at the heart of the bill all along, while last-minute changes made to the final bill, unveiled on Friday, included goodies for a number of groups, including architects, engineers, and the owners of a particular sort of commercial real-estate entity—the kind that Donald Trump, Senator Bob Corker, and certain other members of Congress just so happen to own.”

“What isn’t yet fully appreciated is how porous and potentially unstable the rest of the tax code will be after the bill is passed. With a corporate rate of just twenty per cent, and a big new break for proprietors of unincorporated businesses and certain types of partnerships, the new code will contain enormous incentives for tax-driven restructurings, creative accounting, and outright fraud. Every tax adviser and scammer in the country will be looking for ways to reclassify regular salary income as favored types of business income.”

Morning Consult: “For several months, state Republican Party affiliates have been pushing the GOP tax bill through a quiet ‘ground game’ initiative targeting voters in states that are emerging as potential 2018 battlegrounds – even before the final contours and details of the package were set by GOP negotiators on Capitol Hill.”

“Some Republicans view the campaign – which has been prominent in major battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Nevada – as a dry run for next year’s midterm elections, in which the GOP will defend majorities in both the House and the Senate.”

“Republicans are on the verge of passing the most significant overhaul of the tax code since 1986, after the Senate passed the GOP plan early Wednesday morning and House leaders scheduled a vote to quickly send it to President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.

“The sprawling plan would cut the corporate tax rate dramatically and provide new breaks for other businesses. It also would lower income tax bills in 2018 for the vast majority of households, though the wealthy would see far more relief than the middle class and working poor.”

“The bill passed the Senate 51 to 48 just before 1 a.m., with no Democrats backing the bill while all Republicans present voted for it. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) did not attend the vote as he undergoes treatment for brain cancer. He said earlier this month that he supported the bill.”

Speaker Paul Ryan “plans to pass a continuing resolution later this week to fund the government until Jan. 19, but there are major disagreements within the House GOP over the move. There are also disputes between House and Senate Republicans, as well as the ever-present struggle with Democrats,” Politico reports.

“Right now, no one on either side of the Capitol has any clear idea how this three-way funding fight will play out, but all the major factions are digging in. Lawmakers and aides said the House and Senate could end up ‘ping-ponging‘ a spending bill back and forth until the issues are resolved, although some worry that Congress could blunder into a shutdown. Ryan on Tuesday instructed lawmakers not to leave town, signaling how concerned leadership is about the Friday funding deadline.”