On Tuesday, both the House and Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a $1.5 Trillion dollar

relief to Americans of all classes. Both votes came without a single Democratic vote, with

several Republicans defecting citing various issues with individual mandates within the bill.

Along with an average savings of over $2,000 for the average earning American family, the bill

also increases the child tax credit, lowers the corporate tax rate, and arguably the biggest

success for Trump supporters: removes the individual health care mandate included in

Obamacare. This penalty is enforced by the IRS onto all individuals who choose to not receive

government healthcare, something many conservative groups and individuals have seen as an

infringement upon rights.

Along with the economic stimulus this reform will provide, it also showcases Trump’s ability to

unite the Republican party towards a single common goal, something it’s longstanding leaders

have failed to do. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

have struggled to come to common ground with their own Republican Senators, which severely

has hindered legislative agenda due to a clear obstructionist philosophy being held by

Democrats. Following failure by both chambers to repeal ObamaCare in September, Trump and

his voting base were clearly disappointed. Trump expressed discontent through Twitter over

both McConnell and Ryan, which fueled much uncertainty within the Republican party. Notably,

Trump stuck a disaster relief deal with the Democrats back in September, also increasing the

debt ceiling and preventing government shutdown, after failing to do so with Republican

leaders.

Trump’s successful lobbying of tax reform and repeal of the individual mandate on healtcare

has added to a long list of accomplishments he has achieved through his term. Along with

money staying in the pockets of Americans, unemployment is at an all time low, the economic

markets are at an all time high, and reinvestment in American business has steadily being

increasing. While many have debated Trump’s effectiveness in foreign policy and other

endeavors, he has certainly succeeded in generating economic stimulus simply through his

social media presence and business relationships.

Moving forward into 2018, Trump will continue to work towards fulfilling his promises to the

American voters. Sunday, White House aid and Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short noted

that infrastructure improvement is the next goal of the President heading into January. “I think

you’ll see the president roll out an Infrastructure plan in January” Short said. Along with visions

of an infrastructure package, Trump seems to be closing in on his plans for the Southern

Border wall. On Wednesday, Trump explained that he soon plans to visit the wall prototypes

constructed several months ago, and begin to work towards a final decision on the contract to

complete the massive project. As with Trump’s other big ideas, time will only tell if House and

Senate Republicans will be able to agree on suitable proposals for Trump and his supporters. If

we fail to see these major promises fulfilled in the coming year, it would not be foolish to

expect a Republican shakeup in 2018.