President Trump urged the business community on Tuesday to “redouble” its efforts to promote tax reform as House Republicans work to unveil their long-awaited tax bill later this week.
“I’m counting on all of you to be back here working to maintain our momentum,” Trump told nearly two dozen entrepreneurs and industry leaders during a roundtable meeting at the White House, noting that he will be traveling through Asia for 12 days beginning Friday.
“Now is the time to redouble our efforts. You are leaders in this country and certainly leaders on this subject,” Trump said.
The House’s tax plan is expected to be rolled out Wednesday, after weeks of negotiations between Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and several GOP members. It is still unclear whether the bill will seek to offset revenue loss from tax cuts by curbing state and local reductions or by adjusting the cap on pre-tax contributions to 401(k) retirement savings accounts.
Trump joined several administration officials on Tuesday in calling on Congress to pass a tax bill by Christmas, giving Republicans at least one major legislative victory to tout during next year’s midterm elections. The president also reiterated his belief that a handful of congressional Democrats will likely sign onto the effort, giving Republicans some wiggle room if one or two of their own members defect.
“The Democrats will say our tax bill is for the rich, but they know it’s not,” Trump said. “They don’t even know the tax bill. But I think we’ll have some Democrats join us because it’s a tax bill for the middle class and it’s a tax bill for jobs.”
Trump was joined by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, White House chief of staff John Kelly and National Economic Council director Gary Cohn for the roundtable Tuesday. The White House is said to be planning another event for Wednesday to draw attention to the rollout of the House GOP tax bill.
