Republicans are close to a tax cut plan, with an eye on a debt ceiling deal

According to foreign media reports, Republican (House and Senate) leaders said they are close to agreeing on a plan to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts and raise the debt ceiling, with Congress hoping to approve an economic package by the end of May. "I don't want to get ahead of what the Senate is going to do," Johnson, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told reporters after a meeting at the Treasury Department on Tuesday. "But it doesn't sound like we're going to be too far apart, and that's a good thing, so we're going to be able to act." Johnson noted that the Senate is "shifting" to support raising the debt ceiling as part of the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Thune said he believes a consensus is "emerging" around the debt ceiling plan, an issue that has been a key sticking point between the House and Senate for weeks. Earlier this month, the House passed a plan to raise the debt ceiling as part of tax legislation, but Senate Republicans have been slow to embrace the idea. The inclusion of debt ceiling language in the tax bill has put pressure on Republicans to pass legislation before the federal debt ceiling is breached.