President Donald Trump keeps saying that Republicans' mega tax and spending cut legislation will eliminate taxes on federal Social Security benefits. It does not. At best, Trump's “no tax on Social Security” claim exaggerates the benefits to seniors if either the House or Senate-passed proposals is signed into law.

The class inversion of the two parties is making it trickier for Republicans to cut the social safety net.

Murkowski was one of the Republican holdouts who voted “yes” on the legislation after GOP Senate leaders scrambled to make a series of changes to the bill to ease her concerns over its impact on health care and food assistance cuts in her state.