{"id":2637043,"date":"2026-07-29T06:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-obbba-became-law-bannon-vance-buck-gop-tax-norms\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T06:39:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:39:50","slug":"how-obbba-became-law-bannon-vance-buck-gop-tax-norms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-obbba-became-law-bannon-vance-buck-gop-tax-norms\/","title":{"rendered":"How OBBBA became law: Bannon,\u00a0Vance\u00a0buck GOP tax norms"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-obbba-became-law-bannon-vance-buck-gop-tax-norms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2637043&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Steve Bannon expressed strong confidence in a prediction that President Donald Trump would raise taxes on the wealthy, a stance that sparked skepticism among some GOP members about such a move. Bannon, a former Trump strategist, doubled down, asserting that Trump and the MAGA movement would push for higher taxes on the rich despite internal party opposition. The debate over taxing the wealthy intensified within the Republican Party, with many leaders and officials opposing it on ideological grounds. While some, including Trump, publicly supported the idea or discussed the possibility, key figures like House Speaker Johnson and other GOP senators were largely against raising taxes on high earners, viewing it as incompatible with conservative principles. Media leaks suggested that some officials and advisors, including Vice President Vance, showed openness to increasing taxes for top earners, but these <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >proposals faced important internal resistance<\/a> and ultimately did not gain traction. The discussion highlighted the intra-party conflicts over fiscal policy, with concerns about economic impact, political repercussions, and adherence to traditional GOP tax ideology.the episode underscored the contentious and complex nature of tax policy debates within the Republican ranks, especially during the trump administration&#8217;s later years.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/steve-bannon\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"779\">Steve Bannon<\/a> sounded very confident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appearing on HBO\u2019s <em>Real Time with Bill Maher<\/em> in April of 2025, Bannon boldly predicted <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">President Donald Trump<\/a> was going to \u201craise taxes on the wealthy.\u201d\u00a0Fellow panelist and journalist Josh Rogin immediately pushed back with a healthy dose of skepticism that the GOP was poised to raise <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/taxes\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"302\">taxes<\/a> on many of its donors.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4656296\/big-beautiful-bill-steve-bannon-jd-vance-gop-tax-norms\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>How the Big Beautiful Bill became law: Bannon, Vance push back on GOP tax norms<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4666886\/thune-soft-pedals-trump-debt-limit-curveball-budget-bill\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Thune soft-pedals adding Trump\u2019s request for debt limit curveball to GOP budget bill<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4666867\/senate-advances-russia-iran-sanctions-bill\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Senate advances Russia and Iran sanctions bill in honor of Lindsey Graham<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the longtime ally of the president\u00a0doubled down, saying, \u201cPresident Trump and the MAGA movement will raise taxes on the wealthy\u201d while acknowledging it would be a \u201chuge fight\u201d in the Republican Party. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was right that the debate on taxing the wealthy triggered a significant intra-party battle, but Bannon and his like-minded colleagues ended up on the losing side.\u00a0Bannon declined several requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bannon, who served as Trump\u2019s chief strategist in his first term, was the public face of taking on traditional Republican orthodoxy on tax cuts. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"7658\">Vice President\u00a0JD Vance<\/a> was pushing similar ideas privately, according to six people on and off Capitol Hill who spoke to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> over the last several months.\u00a0The sources spoke on the condition of\u00a0anonymity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior administration noted the president was the driving force behind the massive tax bill and his team worked to implement what he wanted. The official added any suggestion that any member of Trump\u2019s senior advisers was pushing for policy changes without the president\u2019s blessing would be inaccurate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s unclear if Bannon and\u00a0Vance\u00a0worked together though that appears unlikely. Media reports indicate they have had an up-and-down relationship. (Bannon has refused to say that\u00a0Vance\u00a0is Trump\u2019s MAGA successor.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet both Bannon and\u00a0Vance\u00a0have Trump\u2019s ear, and the president at times publicly embraced tax increases for the rich. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In April of last year, Trump said he \u201cloved\u201d the\u00a0idea, adding that raising taxes on the wealthy would \u201ctake care of [the] middle class.\u201d The next month, Trump reportedly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3406025\/trump-asks-speaker-johnson-look-increasing-tax-rates-millionaires\/\">made the case to House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-LA) to raise taxes on individuals making more than $2.5 million a year and couples earning $5 million at the rate of 39.6%. Such a move would have raised more than $67 billion over 10 years, which would have lowered the price tag of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/one-big-beautiful-bill\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"23132\">One Big Beautiful Bill Act<\/a> and appeased some fiscal hawks in Congress. Proponents also claimed that it would rob Democrats of their main talking point \u2014 that the GOP just wanted to reduce taxes for the rich. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/big-beautiful-bill\/\"><strong>HOW THE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL BECAME LAW: READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER\u2019S 10-PART SERIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, many others in the\u00a0GOP didn\u2019t want to raise taxes on anyone. It ran counter to the core of Republican Party orthodoxy, and Republican leaders in both the House and Senate were against it, partly based on ideology\u00a0and partly because it would make their jobs tougher, if not impossible, to get the votes for passage.\u00a0Others have said if Trump really put his weight behind it, the votes could be had. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics,\u00a0including Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, said not lowering the top tax rate and\/or passing a \u201cmillionaire\u2019s tax\u201d would harm the economy and be disastrous politically.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Johnson, who rarely breaks publicly with Trump on any issue, told reporters he wasn\u2019t on board, saying\u00a0\u201cgenerally, we\u2019re trying to reduce taxes around here.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-ways-and-means-committee\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1124\">Ways and Means Committee<\/a> Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) told\u00a0the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Republicans were divided, saying \u201cit was a point of contention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"963\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA), who was one of the authors of Trump\u2019s 2017 tax bill, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/5252583-republicans-tax-hike-rich\/\">last year<\/a> told constituents that the top tax rate in the 2025 bill could go from 37% to 39.6%: \u201cNow that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s going to happen. And the rationale for it is, we can take that money and use it for increasing [the] child tax credit.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a recent interview, Senate Majority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"178\">John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) said \u201cthere was a lot of back and forth\u201d and \u201csignificant disagreements\u201d on a millionaire\u2019s tax. He said there were pockets of support, though it would have cost the votes of other GOP senators. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thune wasn\u2019t a fan, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s not a conservative position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked if\u00a0Vance, a former senator, was pushing it, Thune responded, \u201cI don\u2019t know for sure \u2026 he may have been.\u201d He added it \u201cprobably fits with [Vance\u2019s] overall political philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some congressional officials interviewed for this series said there was a widespread perception on Capitol Hill that\u00a0Vance\u00a0was behind the effort. The impetus, these sources say, was coming from within the White House, both from the principals and their staffers. Others point out Trump was floating an idea he was seriously considering and his inner circle simply was discussing it with him.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-leaks-emerge\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leaks emerge<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the battle escalated, leaks to the media started to emerge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2025\/04\/22\/trump-millionaire-tax-rich-gop-vance\/?nid=top_pb_signin&#038;arcId=6AATPPA7SJAAPJOGE4MBWKOYIU&#038;account_location=ONSITE_HEADER_ARTICLE\"><em>Washington Post<\/em> in April<\/a> of last year reported that \u201cVance\u00a0and budget director Russell Vought have expressed openness to the idea in internal administration deliberations and are viewed as supportive\u201d of raising taxes for top earners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time,\u00a0Vance\u2019s office said the president was deciding what should be in the bill and the vice president would support whatever his boss\u00a0wanted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fox Business host and former Trump official Larry Kudlow went on air and said, \u201cI don\u2019t like it one bit. I hope it\u2019s not true. What good would that do? By the way, the top end pays half the taxes in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The senior administration official stated media reports on this issue as the bill was being formulated were overstated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John McLaughlin, a Trump pollster, said a millionaire\u2019s tax would be gutting the tax cuts Trump signed into law in 2017 and it would have been \u201c1992 all over again,\u201d referring to President George H.W. Bush\u2019s broken \u201cread my lips\u201d\u00a0tax pledge that some say cost him the 1992 election. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added that a tax on the wealthy would have hurt small business owners, many of whom report their firm\u2019s income on individual returns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-transform:uppercase\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/opinion-restoring-america\/3377796\/congress-should-raise-taxes-on-wealthy\/\"><strong>OPINION: Yes, Congress should raise taxes on the wealthy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Proponents last year, including Trump, mulled crafting the wealth tax with a carve-out for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/small-businesses\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3826\">small businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Finance Committee Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-crapo\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1086\">Mike Crapo<\/a> (R-ID) said\u00a0Vance never lobbied him on the matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo, he never pushed me for that,\u201d\u00a0Crapo\u00a0said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis was attributed to a lot of people,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0added. \u201cIt was attributed to the administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While he ultimately opposed raising the rate,\u00a0Crapo\u00a0said he wasn\u2019t necessarily a hard no on it at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was open to one way or the other on that \u2026 but in the end I opposed it, and I\u2019m still opposed to it,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vance did not pursue tax increases for the wealthy when he ran for the Senate and did not propose any such policy changes when he served in the upper chamber.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-effect-on-small-business\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Effect on small business<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Small business groups were paying close attention, especially because Bannon and others were lobbying for a tax increase on the rich in 2017. At the time, Bannon was in the White House and was pressing for a top tax rate that had \u201ca 4 in front of it.\u201d The 2017 Trump tax cuts were ultimately lowered from 39.6% to 37% and extended with the 2025 law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bannon\u2019s push in 2017 and 2025 \u201cnever had the votes,\u201d Norquist said. However, it had to be beaten back repeatedly, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alfredo Ortiz, who represents small businesses as the CEO of the Job Creators Network, said, \u201cIt kept rearing its ugly head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A former congressional aide who helped draft the big beautiful bill said, \u201cIt was much more real than people realize.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vance\u2019s economic populism has raised eyebrows and could hurt his chances if he runs for president in 2028.\u00a0Vance\u00a0this summer faced a Republican backlash after he criticized the philosophy of Milt Friedman, who was an architect of \u201cReaganomics.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vance\u00a0touted Trump\u2019s tariff policies and said, \u201cMilton Friedman\u2019s ideas made more sense in the 1980s because they were being advocated in a country that still had a very rich and powerful institutional Christianity. \u2026 American economic policy on the Right is now much more Alexander Hamilton than it is Milton Friedman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kudlow and Stephen Moore, both of whom played a role in shaping the big beautiful bill, bashed\u00a0Vance\u00a0for his comments on Kudlow\u2019s Fox Business show. Kudlow, who served as Trump\u2019s director of the National Economic Council in 2017, called\u00a0Vance\u2019s comments \u201cpeculiar,\u201d \u201codd,\u201d and \u201cmost curious\u201d earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moore, chairman of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, said, \u201cWe may have to pay [Vance] a visit on economics. \u2026 He seems to believe that we need more government, a more robust centralized government and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s where the party is.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kudlow\u00a0downplayed Trump\u2019s interest in any type of millionaire\u2019s\u00a0tax or not cutting the top rate in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, saying he talked to the president both in 2017 and 2025 and never took to it. Kudlow, meanwhile,\u00a0praised the big beautiful bill and its effect on the economy, noting that the stock market is \u201csoaring.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump seemed torn last year on what to do on a wealth tax. bid.\u00a0In a Truth Social post as\u00a0the\u00a0legislation was being\u00a0shaped last year, he wrote, \u201cRepublicans should probably not do it, but I\u2019m OK if they do!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump was well aware of Bush breaking his tax promise before losing to Bill Clinton in 1992, but attributed the incumbent\u2019s defeat to Ross Perot\u2019s independent bid. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norquist said he was about to get on a flight abroad when Trump called him on May\u00a07, 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4654550\/jd-vance-picks-a-lane-and-a-fight\/#google_vignette\">IN FOCUS: JD VANCE PICKS A LANE \u2014\u00a0AND A FIGHT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump wanted his thoughts on taxing the rich. Norquist said it would break his group\u2019s high-profile pledge not to raise taxes, which has been signed by most GOP politicians (including Vance) and many Republicans running for office. Norquist also mentioned Bush\u2019s unsuccessful bid for a second term. After their discussion, Norquist said he was told the idea was dead and was \u201cnot happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McLaughlin said Trump\u2019s flirtation with raising high-income earners came\u00a0from\u00a0his \u201cpopulist instinct,\u201d and his decision to kill it came from being \u201ca businessman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><em><em>Members of the <\/em><\/em><\/em>Washington Examiner\u2019s<em><em><em> staff who have worked on this series over the past several months are Haris Alic, Hailey Bullis, Bob Cusack, Christian Datoc, James A. Downs, Gabrielle M. Etzel, Lauren Green, Zach Halaschak, Chris Irvine, Joseph Lawler, Naomi Lim, Maydeen Merino, Callie Patteson, Mabinty Quarshie, Samantha-Jo Roth, David Sivak, and Ramsey Touchberry.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steve Bannon confidently predicted Trump would raise taxes on the wealthy in 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4262,"featured_media":2637044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-3-1.png?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5906,6203,4762,5894,15469],"class_list":["post-2637043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-bannon","tag-gop","tag-legislation","tag-politics","tag-vance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-3-1.png?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2637043"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2637047,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637043\/revisions\/2637047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2637044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2637043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2637043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2637043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}