TRUMP: I 'don't want to be disappointed by Congress' on tax cuts

pulse

August 30, 2017 9:54 PM

"I think Congress is going to make a comeback, I hope so," President Donald Trump said in Missouri. "Tell you what, the United States is counting on it."

President Donald Trump kicked off his tax-reform push on Wednesday with a speech in Springfield, Missouri, advocating a massive tax cut while imploring Congress to follow through.

Trump made a slew of promises about his tax plan, such as that it would provide tax relief for middle-class families, boost economic growth, and bring business back to the US.

And as the Republican healthcare plan has stalled, he warned Congress not to let him down again.

"I don't want to be disappointed by Congress, do you understand me?" Trump said as he pointed to GOP lawmakers sitting in the audience.

"I think Congress is going to make a comeback, I hope so," Trump continued to cheers from the audience. "Tell you what, the United States is counting on it."

The comments come as the president's relationship with Congress — and even with members of his party — has frayed and his policy influence has waned.

In the past few months, Trump has complicated the push in the Senate for the GOP healthcare bill, picked a fight with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and been blasted by Republican lawmakers for the response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Policy analysts have warned that the distance between Trump and the legislators could complicate efforts to pass a tax plan. The White House has turned over the plan's detailed crafting to Congress, and many of the biggest issues that need to be ironed out are still up in the air.

Already, reports indicate that Trump's major promises on tax reform might not make it to Congress' plan, including a 15% corporate tax rate. Whether that will be a deal breaker for the president's support remains to be seen.

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