It wasn't the eventual ballooning of the middle class's tax burden or the more than a trillion dollars the policy, if adopted, would add to the deficit over time. Or how it's basically a giveaway to the mega-rich and large corporations. Or the way in which his fellow Republicans are jamming the thing through, probably in order to make it look like they have actually accomplished something in the first year of being in control of all three branches of the federal government.
It was the House version of the bill's failure to include a hike in the child tax credit.
He was digging his heels in and, for once, standing up to the greedy forces in Washington who don't give a damn about the poor or working families.
Dems were impressed.
Then on Friday, he announced that, OK, he was going to vote for the thing after all.
So what grand sacrifice did it take on the part of his House counterparts?
A whole $300 increase to the child tax credit for low and middle-income families, which is paid for by lowering the income cap for qualifying families (who are eligible for a $2,000 credit) from $500,000 to $400,000.
“For far too long, Washington has ignored and left behind the American working class. Increasing the refundability of the Child Tax Credit from 55% to 70% is a solid step toward broader reforms which are both Pro-Growth and Pro-Worker,” Rubio tweeted Friday afternoon.
Skeptics did not hold back in expressing their lack of surprise.
Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director Frank Jackalone, who is based out of the environmental nonprofit's St. Petersburg office, issued a statement Friday decrying Rubio's having caved — as if the guy who really wants to be president wasn't pretending to oppose the bill as a stunt to appeal to the many voters who despise the tax bill.
“This massive tax cut for corporate polluters and the richest Americans will fall on the backs of working families when politicians like Marco Rubio turn around and call for cuts to Social Security, Medicare and critical programs that safeguard our health at the Environmental Protection Agency. Rubio’s current gambit should be seen for what it is: a slick political head fake designed to signal care for American families while really just setting up an even more devastating attack on the programs and safeguards that keep us safe," Jackalone said. “No one should feign surprise when Rubio turns around and votes for this tax scam.”
Although some see a political motivation in Rubio's actions over the bill, it is important to note that he has, in the past promoting expanding the child tax credit for lower income families.
The vote will likely take place next week so that the bill can get to President Trump's desk by Christmas. There are only two possible holdouts on the GOP side: Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Another Republican senator would have to flip in order to block its passage.
This article appears in Dec 14-21, 2017.