Senate Dems Call For Trump Tax Returns Attracts Some GOP Support

13_Schumer
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on January 3. He says that the price people might pay for finding out their history just might not be worth it. Joshua Roberts/REUTERS

U.S. Senate Democrats urged the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday to review President Donald Trump's tax returns, as part of a campaign in Congress that has begun to show signs of attracting Republican support.

Defying decades of precedent, Trump has refused to release his tax returns while his tax affairs are under federal audit. Democrats and other critics contend that the documents could show whether his global business empire poses any conflicts of interest as the president moves his agenda forward on issues ranging from tax reform to foreign relations.

In a letter dated on Wednesday, seven Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee urged the panel's Republican chairman, Orrin Hatch, to request the documents from the U.S. Treasury so that lawmakers can review them in a closed session and determine whether the returns can be released to the public.

Democrats in the House of Representatives said they planned to pose a similar request on Thursday to Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady in a bipartisan letter signed by 140 lawmakers, including House Republicans Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Walter Jones of North Carolina.

The Democratic efforts face long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress. Three attempts in the House have met with defeat this year. Hatch dismissed Wednesday's action even before Senate Democrats announced their letter, telling reporters: "It's politics, pure and simple."

Democrats say they hope to create a bipartisan juggernaut to require the disclosure of Trump's and future presidents' tax returns by pushing forward on multiple fronts.

On Monday, the House voted down a Democratic effort seeking the Republican president's returns, with Sanford and Jones voting "present" rather than opposing the measure.

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine told an interviewer last month she could be open to a subpoena of Trump's taxes as part of a Senate Intelligence Committee probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections.

On Wednesday, Politico quoted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as saying he wanted all presidential candidates required by law to release their tax returns, beginning in 2020.

"The tax return is the lowest ethical bar that you can have for a presidential nominee or a president," said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Senate Finance Democrat who introduced legislation in January requiring nominees and sitting presidents to disclose their tax information.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer

Reuters

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go