From a knowledgeable observer on the hill …
Two important developments today point to the Bush administrationâs collapse of support on Capitol Hill. The first involves the House dropping ANWR from their spending reconciliation bill because 22 moderate Republicans refused to support the measure on the floor if included (no telling yet whether it will pass even w/ ANWR dropped bc of food stamp and child support collection cuts). The next involves the postponement of the tax reconciliation mark up in the Senate Finance Committee, where Olympia Snowe (generally prone to caving after getting the call from Andy Card) refused to buckle and support extension of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts â a signature WH priority. Tax cuts used to be a cakewalk for the WH, now they cant even get them out of committee.
More to follow.
