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Article snippet: The Senate passed legislation to overhaul the tax code early Saturday morning, handing Republicans a badly needed legislative and political victory. Senators voted 51-49 to pass the plan, capping off days of debate and hand wringing as leadership worked frantically behind the scenes to win over holdouts and get the proposal in line with the chamber’s rules. Republican Sen. MORE (R-Tenn.) bucked party leadership and voted against the plan amid lingering concerns over the impact on the deficit. No Democratic senator supported the legislation, with Democrats quickly leaving the chamber after voting no. Vice President Pence presided over the final passage vote. GOP senators, who stayed on the Senate floor until the vote closed after midnight, broke out into applause after Pence announced the bill had passed. "This is a great day for the country," Majority Leader MORE (R-Ky.) said during a 2 a.m. press conference after the vote. "We have an opportunity now to make America more competitive, to keep jobs from being shipped off shore and to provide substantial relief for the middle class." Corker, who is retiring after 2018, said in a statement ahead of the vote that he "wanted to get to yes" on the tax plan. "But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations,” he said. The bill would lower tax rates for individua... Link to the full article to read more