Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that the Trump administration’s tax plan might raise the deficit in the short term, but overall the focus is on growing the economy.
Chuck Todd, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” asked Pence repeatedly to explain how the plan would reduce the deficit, even as deficit reduction remains a Republican priority.
“I understand that people are happy about [the tax plan], but you are going to increase the deficit,” Todd prodded.
Pence shot back: “Maybe in the short term. But the truth is if we don’t get this economy growing at three percent, or more, as the president believes that we can, we’re never going to meet the obligations that we’ve made today.”
The White House tax plan, unveiled last week, calls for changes in the tax code, including lowering individual tax rates and slashing the business tax rate to 15 percent.
Administration officials have asserted that the tax plan will pay for itself, by eliminating tax breaks and by accelerating economic growth.
