White House looks past conservatives on tax reform - to Democrats

[corbe]

White House looks past conservatives on tax reform - to Democrats

Sun Mar 26, 2017 | 2:52pm EDT
   
By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Doina Chiacu | WASHINGTON

Fresh off a defeat on U.S. healthcare legislation, the White House warned rebellious conservative lawmakers that they should get behind President Donald Trump's agenda or he may bypass them on future legislative fights, including tax reform.

The threat by White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to build a broad coalition on tax reform that could include moderate Democrats came as the Republican head of the tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives said he hoped to move a tax bill through his panel this spring.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said his committee had been working on tax reform in parallel with the failed healthcare reform push.

"We've never stopped working," Brady told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo." "We will continue to make improvements."

Brady said the committee plans to move on the bill in the spring. He said he wanted the House blueprint to be the basis for Trump's tax reform plan rather than have competing versions from Treasury and the White House.

Both Trump and Priebus have scolded hardline conservatives who rejected legislation backed by the White House to overhaul Obamacare.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Priebus held out the possibility of working with moderate Democrats as well as Republicans to pass other aspects of Trump's agenda, such as his proposed budget, the revamp of the tax code and a renewed effort at healthcare reform.

"If we can come up with a bill that accomplishes the goals of the president with Republicans alone, we'll take it and we'll move forward with it," Priebus said.

But he added: "I think it's more or less a warning shot that we're willing to talk to anyone. We always have been and I think more so now than ever."
 
In an embarrassment for Trump, who had campaigned for the White House on what he said were his skills as a dealmaker, the healthcare bill was pulled from the floor of the House of Representatives on Friday because it failed to draw enough support from within Trump's own Republican Party.

<..snip..>

Priebus said it was a "real shame" that conservative lawmakers decided not to get behind the healthcare bill.

"And I think the president is disappointed in the number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't," he said.

Trump has put tax reform at the top of his legislative agenda now that the healthcare bill has failed.

Priebus said Trump was not backing off his view that the tax reform bill needed a border tax. He also said that the measure would include a middle class tax cut that he said might help to attract votes from moderate Democrats.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized Trump over his handling of the healthcare bill and said Republicans would face roadblocks from conservatives on other issues.
 
"They're going to repeat the same mistake they made on Trumpcare with tax reform," Schumer told ABC's "This Week."

He urged Trump to go a different path: reject the Freedom Caucus and work with Democrats.

"If he changes, he could have a different presidency," Schumer said. "He's going to have to tell them he can't work with them and we'll certainly look at his proposals. But it's going to be guided on our values."

Republican Representative Mark Meadows, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said on Sunday he was optimistic on tax reform and that his group could support a plan that is not revenue neutral.

"So, tax reform and lowering taxes, you know, will create and generate more income," he said. "And so we're looking at those, where the fine balance is. But does it have to be fully offset? My personal response is 'no.'"

Another Freedom Caucus congressman, Jim Jordan, rejected fingerpointing over the collapse of the health bill.

"Instead of doing the blame game, let's get to work," he said on "Fox News Sunday."


(Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-taxes-idUSKBN16X0MM

[Silver Pines]

White House looks past conservatives on tax reform - to Democrats

By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Doina Chiacu
March 26, 2017


Fresh off a defeat on U.S. healthcare legislation, the White House warned rebellious conservative lawmakers that they should get behind President Donald Trump's agenda or he may bypass them on future legislative fights, including tax reform.

The threat by White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to build a broad coalition on tax reform that could include moderate Democrats came as the Republican head of the tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives said he hoped to move a tax bill through his panel this spring.


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-taxes-idUSKBN16X0MM

[Silver Pines]

Lol, good job, primary voters.

[SZonian]

This will work out well...

[INVAR]

Bypassing Conservatives to 'work with Democrats' to diminish liberty to impose Statism is a hallmark of the Republican Party.

As we warned back last year, we fully expected Trump to continue that tradition with increased vigor.

Interesting that now it is being done in the form of a hissy-fit tantrum since he did not get to flash "Winner!" upon his endorsement of Trump/RyanCare to replace the name of ObamaCare.

But what we expected nonetheless.

[MOD8]

Topics Merged

[Cripplecreek]

Will Donald Trump become the first president to switch parties in office?

[corbe]

Will Donald Trump become the first president to switch parties in office?

   Anything is possible @Cripplecreek but I think we are witnessing the rebirth of some kind of Rockefeller Republicanism, which I was under the impression Goldwater slew that creature.

[libertybele]

So...Pres. Trump is giving up on the party under which he ran and slapping the voters and his supporters in the face.  Nice!

[Doug Loss]

Hmmm.  Has a sitting president ever lost a primary for his second-term election?

[skeeter]

Lol, good job, primary voters.

From the looks of it many of those primary voters will be more than happy to follow Trump over to the other side.

[Hoodat]

White House looks past conservatives on tax reform - to Democrats

Why wouldn't he?  Trump campaigned on raising taxes, saying that those evil capitalist hedge fund managers weren't paying their fair share.  So Trump and Democrats make a perfect fit.

[LMAO]

This was predictable so I'm not surprised . We are seeing the beginnings of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Part 2.

Remember, "I probably  identify more as a Democrat"

[Hoodat]

Hmmm.  Has a sitting president ever lost a primary for his second-term election?

Franklin Pierce

[Cripplecreek]

Hmmm.  Has a sitting president ever lost a primary for his second-term election?

You just know the democrats would welcome him with open arms.

[Frank Cannon]

The threat by White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to build a broad coalition on tax reform that could include moderate Democrats....

Moderate Rats don't exist. You're going to be dealing with radical filth because that is all that is left. Ignore the Conservatives at your own peril.

[LMAO]

if he ends up going along with too many of their ideas, he will be stuck with the predicted failures and the Democrats will have no problems holding him accountable even though they also were on board with them.

[geronl]

Franklin Pierce

lol, the one Presidents name that doesn't even ring a bell with me.