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esident Biden will deliver a major economic speech this week spotlighting fringe economic proposals championed by House Republicans — including a controversial bill to abolish the IRS and replace it with a 30% national sales tax.
Why it matters: With a divided Congress, the political battle over the economy for the next two years will be more about perception than actual policies. Biden wants to build a narrative for his case by bludgeoning Republicans with their own words.
- One way he’ll do that is by trying to tie the GOP to Rep. Buddy Carter’s (R-Ga.) national sales tax bill, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reportedly agreed to bring to the floor in exchange for the support of far-right rebels.
- Even some Republicans see a vote on the Fair Tax Act as a potential vulnerability. “This is a political gift to Biden and the Democrats,” leading tax reform advocate Grover Norquist told Semafor last week.
The big picture: Painting Republicans as extreme has been core to Democrats’ strategy in the era of Donald Trump, and the party is eager to run the same playbook with the House GOP’s newly empowered far-right flank.
