Trump nears tax victory

The US Senate narrowly approved a sweeping tax overhaul early yesterday, putting President Donald Trump on the brink of his first major legislative triumph nearly a year after he took office.

Hours earlier, Trump's $1.5 trillion deficit-busting tax cuts cleared the House of Representatives, but a rare last-minute snag over parliamentary rules was set to force the lower chamber to vote on the updated package once again yesterday.

The deepest rewrite of the US tax code in three decades provides dramatic tax breaks to corporations, and families at all incomes levels will see their income tax drop starting next year, with the largest benefits going to the wealthy.

The Republican legislation passed the Senate along strict party lines, 51 votes to 48, with all Democrats united in opposition.

The vote had appeared destined to a dramatic showdown, especially with Senator John McCain's absence due to cancer treatment meaning Republicans could afford only one defector.

Vice President Mike Pence presided over the chamber in the event he need to break a tie.

But with senators Marco Rubio and Bob Corker backing off their threats to oppose the bill, it ultimately carried through, and Pence pronounced to loud cheers, "the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is passed."

In the House, 12 Republicans had joined all Democrats in opposition as the bill passed 227 to 203.

"Today we are giving the people of this country their money back," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, who forcefully banged the gavel down as he proclaimed victory.

Trump, who has pushed hard to get the measure across the finish line, tweeted his congratulations to Ryan and all other "great House Republicans who voted in favor of cutting your taxes!"

The procedural snafu only became apparent afterward.

Senate Democrats said they demanded that three provisions in the bill -- including one allowing the use of savings accounts for home-schooling expenses -- be stripped out because they violate the Senate's so-called Byrd Rule, guidelines on the kinds of legislation that can pass the Senate with just a simple majority.

Democrats seized on the hiccup as proof that Republicans were rushing to jam the tax cuts through Congress without enough study.