Senator Rob Portman used to think reconciliation was a great tool to pass major tax breaks for the ultra rich and attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, in the face of Republican obstruction, Democrats want to use reconciliation to pass the American Rescue Plan to deliver direct checks to families, money for vaccines, and aid for small businesses. And it seems Portman has had a change of heart.
Shot: Senator Portman appeared on CNN’s State of the Union to dismiss the use of reconciliation to pass the American Rescue Plan.
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Chaser: Portman was supportive of using reconciliation to pass major tax cuts for the rich and to undo the Affordable Care Act.
The Washington Post: Rob Portman: What a GOP Senate Would Do
“Reconciliation would be great,” he [Portman] says brightly. “We could do one for spending, one for revenue and one for the debt limit. We ought to do that.”