Republicans on Capitol Hill should still get to tax reform before August of this year, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday, despite the slow start to Obamacare repeal and replace legislation.
“Tax reform remains high on the president’s priority list,” Spicer said, noting that he expects Congress to remain “on schedule” when it comes to President Trump’s major legislative goals.
Spicer’s comments came hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate was unlikely to take up tax reform before Congress leaves Washington for August recess.
Trump has previously argued that lawmakers can’t begin work on his desired tax legislation before they make progress on healthcare reform. Earlier this week, House Republican leadership put forward an Obamacare replacement bill in what the administration has characterized as the first phase of a three-step plan.
“I think we feel confident that we’re going to get a lot done, continue to get a lot done this year,” Spicer said Thursday.
While Trump has actively exercised his executive authority to advance his agenda since taking office, his policy priorities have gained relatively little traction in Congress. Some critics have questioned whether Trump’s legislative goals — including infrastructure and education reform — will advance this year given bitter partisan divisions in the House and Senate as well as unresolved disagreements within the GOP over key policy details like the border adjustment tax.
