Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said the administration of President Donald Trump wants the tax bill to pass, with or without repeal of Obamacare mandate.
Partial transcript as follows:
DICKERSON: And we’re back with Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Director, I want to start with the individual mandate. That’s something the president wants. It’s in the bill now, in part in the Senate to just make the numbers add up. If it was taken out, would the president be okay with maybe cutting that corporate rate to 22% not all the way down to 20% to make up that money that they need in the Senate?
MULVANEY: No, I don’t think so. I don’t think anybody doubts where the president is on repeal and replace. The White House would love to see Obamacare taken apart all at once, bit by bit, however we can do it. That being said, there’s a couple of things that the president has been very clear on from the very beginning.
Number one, the middle class, ordinary Americans, working folks, have to pay less and it has to be simpler. And number two, that corporate tax rate has to be as low as possible. Originally, he wanted it at 15%. We agreed with the House and the Senate leadership to go to 20% as part of the early discussions here, and I don’t think you’ll see us interested in going above 20%.
So, I think at the end of the day, John, what we’re interested in is the best tax bill that can pass. If a good tax bill can pass with that Obamacare mandate repeal as part of it, great. If it needs to come out in order for that good tax bill to pass, we can live with that as well.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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