Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., on Monday unsuccessfully tried to force the House to adopt a resolution that would require President Trump to make his tax returns available for congressional review.
Pascrell attempted to bring his resolution up under a point of “privilege,” which is a matter “affecting the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity and integrity.”
Democrats cheered and applauded after Pascrell read the resolution in its entirety and interrupted him several times with his cheers while he held the floor.
“A growing number of senators and members from both parties” now believe Congress should review Trump’s taxes, Pascrell said.
“Let’s shine a light under the president’s conflicts together,” he said, calling for bipartisan support for his resolution.
Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, ruled that Pascrell’s request did not meet the bar for a matter of privilege. And House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s motion to table the matter was approved on a party-lie vote.
Pascrell earlier asked Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, to get Trump’s taxes from 2006 to 2015 for private review under a law that allows his panel and the Joint Committee on Taxation to demand any American’s tax returns.
During the Ways and Means Committee’s organizational meeting Feb. 14, he and Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, turned that request into an amendment, which failed on a party-line vote.
Pascrell’s privileged resolution read, in part: “Whereas, in the United States’ system of checks and balances, Congress has a responsibility to hold the Executive Branch of government to the highest standard of transparency to ensure the public interest is placed first,” and noted that every commander in chief since President Gerald Ford has publicized his tax returns.
