Republicans in Congress are running into a brick wall when trying to pitch a 10-year extension of President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts to their constituents back home.
That's according to a Friday article in Politico, which reported that senators are coming up short when trying to convince voters of the benefits of tax cuts that are expected to blow a $4.6 trillion hole in the budget. Senate Republicans running for reelection in next year's midterms are particularly concerned about how to win over home state voters to another decade of tax cuts that have been widely criticized as being "skewed to the rich."
"In 2017, we were able to campaign on lowering your taxes," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is up for reelection next year. "Now we have to say, ‘We want to keep that going.’"
READ MORE: 'Kill them all': Shocking details about Fetterman's behavior raise concerns over his health
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the 2017 tax cut legislation gave a tax cut of roughly $60,000 to households in the top 1% of income earners making $500,000 or more, while those who were in the bottom 60% of income earners got a tax cut of less than $500. And tax cuts for the richest top 5% of Americans were more than triple that of tax cuts for the poorest 60%.
Politico reported that Democrats are actually mostly supportive of most of the 2017 legislation, save for the most generous tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. This includes breaks for lower-income Americans, as well as for parents and small business owners.
"There’s a number of things on the table that could result in some very dramatic decreases in tax burdens," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said.
Tillis told the outlet that pitching voters on a tax cut extension involves "reminding people of the benefits that they’ve enjoyed, and saying that we’re trying to maintain that." He admitted that while the tax cut extension may not necessarily affect most voters, he argued that he was trying to avoid tax rates "looking a lot worse." As far as Republicans' own tax rates, an April report found that approximately 70% of them would personally reap a financial benefit from a 10-year extension.
READ MORE: 'Losing the base': MTG goes on massive rant against Trump
Click here to read Politico's full article.