“Speaker Paul Ryan and his top lieutenants plan to bring a short-term government funding bill to the House floor on Thursday despite internal resistance — in the hopes of averting a shutdown and then leaving town for the holidays,” Politico reports.

“GOP leaders are betting that their conference doesn’t want to trample on their tax victory by shuttering federal agencies. They plan to call up the bill, along with a separate $81 billion disaster package for hurricane relief. If the House passes the funding patch Thursday, the Senate will move on it as quickly as possible.”

Patrick Murray: “Bookmark that photo of Republican lawmakers gathering at the White House today to celebrate their first major legislative victory of the Trump era. If history is any guide, many of them may be on their way out this time next year.”

“Importantly, fully half of the American public believes that their own federal taxes will increase because of this new tax reform package. Only 14% expect that their taxes will go down. In reality, many more than 1-in-7 taxpayers will see at least a nominal decrease. This reality is what GOP lawmakers are banking on when they face the voters next year.”

“But politics – and voters’ decision-making process – isn’t always based on reality. It is, however, always based on perception. And based on historical perception metrics, the short-term future doesn’t look quite so bright for the bill’s proponents.”

“Puerto Rico’s governor is warning that the sweeping tax plan passed by congressional Republicans on Wednesday could deliver a ‘crippling blow’ to the island’s already-fragile economy, still reeling from the effects of major hurricanes,” the Washington Post reports.

“The tax bill passed overwhelmingly in the House on Wednesday includes a new 12.5 percent tax on profits derived from intellectual property held by foreign companies — a move designed to compel those companies to move back to the United States. Puerto Rico is considered part of the United States in all realms except taxes — meaning that island residents don’t pay federal income taxes but do pay into Social Security. Companies based on the island are treated as if they were located in other Caribbean tax havens not under an American flag.”

New York Times: “Amid the cheers and gavel-pounding among Republicans on Tuesday at the passage of the tax bill in the House, there was a Northeastern accent to the party’s dissenters, with nine lawmakers from New York and New Jersey bucking the consensus to vote no. And in almost every case, the reason for that cross-Hudson opposition came down to the assertion that their two states were basically being used to pay for tax cuts in the other 48.”

“The most sweeping tax code overhaul in a generation will soon head to President Trump’s desk — and Republicans are enjoying a victory dance. Now comes the real-world turmoil,” Politico reports.

“America’s new tax system will go into effect in just 12 days, and payroll companies are bracing for confusion as they figure out new withholding rules that will affect millions of American paychecks.”

Walter Shapiro: “Trump has promised that the over-taxed IRS will issue new withholding schedules by February. But because all 150 million taxpayers subject to withholding will have to file new W-4 forms detailing their deductions, there exists the potential for a brief outburst of chaos reminiscent of the failed rollout of Obamacare.”