White House threatens to bypass hardline conservatives on tax reform

[webfact]

White House threatens to bypass hardline conservatives on tax reform

By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Doina Chiacu

REUTERS

 

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chief Strategist Steve Bannon arrive for a meeting about the American Health Care Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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's "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

 

"We will continue to make improvements. We are planning to move this in the Ways and Means committee in spring ... and have this ready for the Senate to go as well," Brady said.

 

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 on Friday from the floor of the House of Representatives because it failed to draw enough support from within Trump's own Republican Party.

 

Objections from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and from moderate Republicans left leaders short of the votes needed for passage, with Democrats unified in opposition.

 

Trump failed to win over the Freedom Caucus lawmakers despite courting them intensively. Outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America that are closely aligned with the Freedom Caucus had strongly opposed the Republican healthcare bill and urged lawmakers to vote against it.

 

In a tweet on Sunday morning, Trump lashed out at both the Freedom Caucus and the conservative groups, saying their actions had left "Democrats smiling in D.C."

 

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 the same conservative revolt on other issues.

 

"They're going to repeat the same mistake they made on Trumpcare with tax reform," Schumer told ABC.

 

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.

 

"I fully expect that what we're going to see is not only real tax reform, but other measures that come along," he told ABC.

 

Meadows, a fiscal conservative, also said his group could support a tax plan that is not revenue neutral.

 

"So, tax reform and lowering taxes, you know, will create and generate more income," Meadows 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."

 

(Reporting By Caren Bohan; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-27

[Credo]

It is becoming rather clear that he really doesn't play well with others.   

[rijb]

13 minutes ago, Credo said:

It is becoming rather clear that he really doesn't play well with others.   

It's going to be a long 4 years.

[darksidedog]

I love the Democrats were left smiling in D.C. line. Given that 83% of people nationwide thought the healthcare plan was bad, I would think it wasn't only Democrats happy.

The sad part is that the President felt it necesasary to tweet about something so puerile.

[spidermike007]

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 on Friday from the floor of the House of Representatives because it failed to draw enough support from within Trump's own Republican Party.

 

It has been clear to many of us that he is really not that impressive as a deal maker. He knows how to take advantage of people with his capital, and since he has no scruples, it becomes easier to profit from the losses of others. I am always said it is possible to become quite wealthy and still retain your ethics and fair sense of play. But, I do not think that applies to becoming a billionaire. With very few exceptions, I think it requires a bit of a robber baron mentality, which the deflector in chief most definitely possesses. Yes, he got blown out of the water on his first attempt at legislation. He is not accustomed to working with adults who are on a level playing field. Let us see if he can learn to play fair. Even at the end, he tried to bully his own people into saying yes, with the threat of bringing down their careers in politics. A worm is a worm.

[joecoolfrog]

The Art of the deal ;

1) when planning consensus with a number of groups , it is essential to scold (on Twitter ) selected participants as and when you feel fit.

Am I the only one who thinks Trump has been reading Voltaire and this whole show is an exercise in mass satire ?

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

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

A lesson that Trump and his administration need to learn. Congressmen are loyal to their own state party and independent Constituents. And when the POTUS has a historical low approval so early in his administration, Republican congressmen will feel even less loyal to Trump than to their own constituents. Trump needs to check his ego at the door when he begins to politic with congress for his tax reform.

[Jingthing]

The real stuff hits the fan.

Quote

The GOP’s health-care bill may be dead, but the truth is that governing is only likely to get harder from here on out.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/nobody-knew-governing-could-be-so-complicated/520824/

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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.

Rather a funny statement your going to bypass elected politicians when your tax reform bill comes up for a vote. Can you "bypass" the Democrats to? Is this "bypass" statement just another part of your delusional thinking?? Your just to much!!

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

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

I guess  his circle of trust is broken. 

[Jingthing]

16 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

Rather a funny statement your going to bypass elected politicians when your tax reform bill comes up for a vote. Can you "bypass" the Democrats to? Is this "bypass" statement just another part of your delusional thinking?? Your just to much!!

Well if the pattern from the trumpcare fiasco continues, the practical question is can they come up with legislation that is decent enough to attract enough democrats to get stuff passed. 

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Well if the pattern from the trumpcare fiasco continues, the practical question is can they come up with legislation that is decent enough to attract enough democrats to get stuff passed. 

Yes the $64,000 (not much money anymore) question. You can be sure threats like "bypass" will come hot and heavy and could in the end work against him. These "good old boys" in congress have been around a long long time maybe to long and they do not take kindly to an interloper like Trump trying to tell them what to do. Its something like the political structure was here in Thailand a couple hundred years ago with many kings controlling their own piece of the country. 

[Jingthing]

The "magical" R party will have the same type of problem as with trumpcare but shifted. Go too far moderate (still right wing) to get some democrats (they won't go left) and then they will lose even more votes from their own party. If this plays out as it might, those more right wing democrats may have amplified power than their small numbers indicate. 

Edited March 27, 2017 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Our so called president trump is very attracted to stuff that is FUN.

Perhaps (OK, definitely) he's in the wrong job now.

The FUN part is over. Even his campaign rallies (which he still does) which is bigly fun for him will be less fun when it becomes harder to brag about all his winning, which we're all so tired of ...

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/03/all_of_the_reasons_why_trumpcare_failed.html

Quote

 

Why Trumpcare Failed

You can’t unite a party that is fundamentally divided.

...

 President Trump has said that he looks forward to tax reform and that it will be “fun.”

His advisers may want to brief him.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by Jingthing

[Srikcir]

Ten Tragedies of Trump's First 60 days.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ten-tragedies-of-trumps-first-60-days_us_58d1ee93e4b099c777b9dd20

Who'd thought getting tired of winning meant getting tired of losing?

[Basil B]

10 hours ago, rijb said:

It's going to be a long 4 years.

Do you really think he will last that long?

[rijb]

27 minutes ago, Basil B said:

Do you really think he will last that long?

I hope not.

[maewang99]

on the topic..... what about the $US 20,000,000,000,000.00 Obama Boehner debt limit agreement expiration? 

last agreed to in 2015.  

 

while we're busy getting ready to cut taxes again. ha ha ha!!!!

[smotherb]

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Well if the pattern from the trumpcare fiasco continues, the practical question is can they come up with legislation that is decent enough to attract enough democrats to get stuff passed. 

Enough democrats? They can't get enough Republicans. To get enough Democrats, I'll wager they would have to promote a Democrat agenda.