Sen. Bob Corker announced Friday that he will support the GOP tax bill, a reversal after he became the lone Republican to vote against the plan in the U.S. Senate.
Corker had long been critical of the proposal for not doing enough to address the national deficit.
“After many conversations over the past several days with individuals from both sides of the aisle across Tennessee and around the country — including business owners, farmers, chambers of commerce and economic development leaders — I have decided to support the tax reform package we will vote on next week," Corker said in a statement.
“This bill is far from perfect, and left to my own accord, we would have reached bipartisan consensus on legislation that avoided any chance of adding to the deficit and far less would have been done on the individual side with items that do not generate economic growth."
The White House issued a response shortly after Corker's announcement showing appreciation for his pledge.
"The President greatly appreciates Senator Corker’s phone call and pledge to support tax cuts. He sees a great entrepreneurial spirit being released in our country and he is a part of that spirit. When these massive tax cuts and incentives kick in, jobs and growth will follow at a very high level," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
The Chattanooga Republican said that after much consideration he believed the bill is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to make U.S. businesses more productive and internationally competitive.
Corker was the only Republican to vote voted against the plan in the Senate after GOP leaders failed to satisfy his demands that the package must not increase the federal deficit.
The House previously passed its version of the bill and GOP leaders in the House and Senate have worked to reconcile the differences between the two.
“From the beginning of this debate, I have been a cheerleader for legislation that — while allowing for current policy assumptions and reasonable dynamic scoring — would not add to the deficit and set rates that are permanent in nature,” Corker said.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also said Friday he would change his stance and vote for the bill.