Make Me Smart

Will Congress deliver Trump's tax cuts?

Apr 15, 2025

Caitlin Reilly, a tax and economics reporter at CQ Roll Call, breaks down Congress's complicated journey towards enacting Trump’s tax cuts. She delves into the reconciliation process, explaining how it makes certain tax cuts appear budget-friendly. The conversation also touches on the political tug-of-war within Congress and the implications of the U.S.-China trade war on Boeing. Additionally, Reilly humorously addresses skepticism about the likelihood of bipartisan support for tax reform amidst current political divisions.

27:27

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Episode guests

Caitlin Reilly

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Quick takeaways

The budget reconciliation process is essential for the GOP to pass significant tax cuts without needing bipartisan support, enabling a streamlined legislative approach.

Intense negotiations around spending cuts are shaping the political landscape, with lawmakers balancing fiscal responsibility against potential constituent backlash ahead of midterm elections.

Deep dives

Understanding Budget Reconciliation

Budget reconciliation is a critical legislative process that allows legislation to pass in the Senate with a simple majority, bypassing the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. This process is especially important when one party controls the government, enabling them to push through substantial parts of their agenda. Recently, this has been utilized to extend tax cuts from the 2017 tax reform during the Trump administration and is central to the current discussions around a new reconciliation bill. Without this process, any proposed legislation would need bipartisan support to pass, making it significantly more challenging to enact policies swiftly.

Intro

3min

Navigating Senate Budget Reconciliation

16min

Exploring Tariffs, Boeing, and the Future of Higher Education

4min

Navigating Policy Impacts and Tax Innovations

3min

Tax Reform in Congress: A Humorous Skepticism

2min

Happy Tax Day, folks. While you’re hitting “Submit” on your returns, lawmakers in Washington are negotiating over what next year’s Tax Day could look like. Congress is aiming to pack President Donald Trump’s promised tax cuts into one behemoth reconciliation bill. But Caitlin Reilly, tax and economics reporter at CQ Roll Call, said there’s a long way to go before making these promises a reality. On the show today, Reilly explains why Congress is pursuing “reconciliation,” the accounting magic lawmakers are using to make certain tax cuts look free, and how the House and Senate will square two drastically different mandates for spending cuts.

Then, we’ll look into how Boeing is getting caught up in the U.S.-China trade war. And, a tax professor answers the “Make Me Smart” question.

Here’s everything we talked about today: