Donald Trump wanted a Big, Beautiful tax bill. So far what he’s getting is something closer to a glitter- glued group project where some of the Republican team forgot the assignment.

Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee cobbled together a 389-page proposal that they are trying to sell but once you peel back the gold-leaf branding, it’s more fragile than a Biden bike ride.

Spoiler Alert: The Social Security tax cut isn’t a cut at all. It’s just a dressed-up deduction. Instead of eliminating taxes on Social Security income, seniors 65 and older will get a $4,000 bump to their standard deduction at tax time. Translation: it’s a bonus write-off, not a real repeal.

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It’s a nice gesture – but let’s not pretend it’s the sweeping tax relief some of us were hoping for. Instead of real relief, we’re basically getting a glorified coupon. Instead of stashing away around $450 a month to cover taxes on my husband’s Social Security, with the Republican proposal, I’ll still have to save about $110 a month. Sure, it’s better – but $1,320 a year is still a tax. The upside? At least it kicks in for the 2025 tax year.

The other problem: it’s not permanent. Like most of the other things in the Republican proposal, it ends at the end of 2028. It seems likely the Republicans crafted this plan with the upcoming election in mind.

MarketWatch, in their sub-headline about the proposal, says, “President Trump campaigned on a pledge to eliminate taxes on Social Security – but this isn’t that.”

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The article suggests that it’s because of the Byrd Rule that this happened – because lawmakers are prohibited from making any changes to Social Security in budget-reconciliation legislation.

The proposal was debated and passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday and it now goes to the House Budget Committee where they will combine all portions of a bill together to go on to the full chamber.

But let’s not forget the elephants in the room. House Republicans will still have to agree on a bill – and then the Senate will most likely treat it like a Build-A-Bill workshop, snipping and slicing until it’s unrecognizable. Trying to get GOP lawmakers to pass a unified plan will be like trying to herd cats through a laser pointer convention. Here’s hoping that the end is something that Trump can actually be proud of. Because if there’s one thing you can count on Republicans doing, it’s snatching confusion from the jaws of clarity and screwing up a good thing when they’re actually in power.