Democratic House threatens Trump’s business agenda – Business News

THE Democratic Party’s success in capturing the House of Representatives is expected to complicate President Trump’s push to negotiate new trade deals and cut regulation for industries such as autos and energy, policy analysts and market strategists say.

“You’re not going to see any further major legislative changes. There’s not going to be another tax cut and no major policy revisions for business,” said Terry Haines, senior political strategist at brokerage Evercore ISI. “But at the same time, nothing passed under Trump gets rolled back.”

The GOP will also face new hurdles on tax-cutting initiatives set in motion last year that have boosted business profits and helped to lift consumer confidence. House Democrats are likely to push for tax increases—including possibly raising the corporate tax rate as part of a budget deal—and block Republican efforts to make permanent new individual income tax cuts passed last year, economists and policy analysts say.

“Some industries could be on the defensive with certain provisions of the tax code,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “A Democratic House [will] go after things they don’t like in the tax code as a means of paying for programs they do.”

The House Democrats won’t be able to roll back any signature legislation passed by the Republican Congress without a majority in the Senate. But policy analysts say they may push through some tax changes in return for their support on other bills or trade deals.