The showdown has arrived that will frame Trump’s presidency: Stuart Varney
The showdown has arrived. It’s President Trump versus some Republicans and most Democrats. It is a showdown that will frame his presidency. His big election promise was his growth agenda, and the centerpiece of that agenda is tax reform...making America “great again” by cutting taxes and growing the economy. How much can he get through Congress?
The plan has already been trimmed. At first, it was a grand plan to reform the entire tax code so your tax return would fit on a postcard. Then, it was dramatic tax rate cuts for everyone. Now, as Gary Cohn told us, it’s a middle-class tax cut.
It seems there has been pushback from some "moderate" Republicans. These are the same Republicans who kept ObamaCare in place.
And some senators remain hostile to the Trump presidency itself; Senator McCain just called him "poorly informed and impulsive.” A raft of other Republicans may still resent the rough treatment they received from candidate Trump.
We've seen this showdown coming all year. So far, this Congress has failed to give the president much of what he wants. Well now, the timetable has shrunk to a very narrow time window. That makes the showdown so much more intense. If there's no tax cut this year, we don't grow at a 4% rate next year.
It is going to get ugly. If you thought politics was a nasty business from Inauguration Day to Labor Day, just wait till you see the sheer nastiness that will emerge before Thanksgiving.
A $4 trillion spending plan, that’s the budget. A debt ceiling deal that’s allowing the government to borrow more money, a big Harvey relief bill which may be tacked onto the debt ceiling…all of that has to be done quickly. Plus tax cuts!
Well, the showdown has begun. A big tax cut meeting in the White House today. Tomorrow, a meeting with congressional leaders.