'In the service of whim': Officials scramble to make Trump's false assertions real
The great election-eve middle-class tax cut began not as a factual proposal, but as a false promise.
When President Trump abruptly told reporters over the weekend that middle-income Americans would receive a 10 percent tax cut before the midterm elections, neither officials on Capitol Hill nor in his administration knew anything about such a tax cut. The White House released no substantive information. And although cutting taxes requires legislation, Congress is not scheduled to be back in session until after the Nov. 6 elections.
Yet Washingtons bureaucratic machinery whirred into action nonetheless working to produce a policy that could be seen as supporting Trumps whim.
One such option now under discussion by administration officials is a symbolic nonbinding resolution designed to signal to voters ahead of the elections that if Republicans hold their congressional majorities they might pass a future 10 percent tax cut for the middle class. And House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) said Tuesday he would work with the White House and the Treasury Department to develop a plan over the coming weeks.
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