The U.S. House of Representatives passed significant changes to the nation's tax code for the first time in three decades and by a comfortable vote margin Thursday, giving President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans a much-needed win after a year of legislative setbacks.
“This is nothing short of extraordinary,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said after the vote, noting that getting the needed number of 218 House members to agree on anything was an achievement.
Ryan's long-held goal of reforming the nation's tax code appeared in jeopardy earlier this year after Republicans tried and failed to deliver on another long-term campaign promise: repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.
Republican leadership appeared visibly relaxed on the House floor as the vote totals moved toward passage and earlier in the day after Trump gave a last-minute speech of encouragement at the party's weekly conference meeting.
Despite optimism among House Republicans, the bill now faces a much tougher path to passage in the Senate.
Late Thursday, a Senate tax-writing panel approved its own overhaul bill that will be sent to the full Senate after next week's Thanksgiving holiday. The Senate bill already faces strong opposition from Democrats, who call the bill a tax break for the wealthy.