Ali Bedford and Geoffrey Paul look at what lawmakers will be focusing on in the months ahead.
In a midterm election year, the policy agenda is as much about political positioning as about legislating. With narrow margins in Congress and legislative control at stake, both parties are shaping their agendas around what will resonate with voters in the months ahead, and tax policy is sure to remain a central focus.
Implementing the Tax Bill
Republican lawmakers used 2025 to advance their agenda through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), and now attention in Washington has shifted to implementation. This phase presents an opportunity for stakeholders to weigh in on how new provisions are applied and reveals areas where technical corrections may be necessary.
One provision already drawing concern that may require Congressional action is the treatment of deductions for trusts and estates under the new Internal Revenue Code Section 68. Because the limitation on itemized deductions doesn’t exclude trusts and estates, there’s a risk of double taxation unless clarified or corrected. Congress often pursues these types of “technical corrections” at the end of the year on a bipartisan basis, but it’s unclear whether there will be momentum for bipartisan tax policymaking come December.
In the meantime, federal policymakers are searching for what’s next. Republicans view their sweeping tax bill as a key legislative achievement and are working to elevate it with voters ahead of the midterm elections. On the other hand, Democrats are using the law’s spending cuts, particularly those affecting social safety net programs, to argue that it imposes meaningful costs on families.
Despite the contrasting perspectives, both parties are highlighting a similar message—how their policy agendas support American households.
Midterms Driving Agenda
Lawmakers’ ability to legislate productively on the Hill remains constrained, however. Leadership continues to work with slim margins in both chambers, making it difficult to advance legislation. At the same time, several committee chairs have shifted their attention toward oversight and investigations, a trend that’s likely to continue through the remainder of this Congress.
The House’s tax-writing committee has been particularly active on this front, spotlighting fraud allegations, scrutinizing large tax-exempt hospitals and raising concerns about foreign influence by wealthy individuals in federal policymaking. Looking ahead, this dynamic is likely to continue regardless of which party holds power. Democrats have strongly signaled that if they regain control of either chamber, they’ll pursue their own oversight agenda, including investigations into the financial relationships of certain wealthy individuals, particularly those connected to the Trump Administration, which could serve as political pretext for advancing broader wealth tax proposals.
Given these dynamics and it being a midterm election year, there isn’t a clear path for major tax legislation to reach the President’s desk before November, whether partisan or bipartisan. Still, a clear throughline is emerging. Both parties have warmed to scrutinizing large institutions and wealthy taxpayers, and they’ll likely continue to use their oversight and investigative powers over the next nine months to signal their position to voters short of being able to pass substantive laws.
Article originally published in Wealth Management.
April 22, 2026