Trump OKs GOP tax hike on the rich as Republicans hash out his legislative agenda
Trump's support for raising taxes on the rich comes as Republicans craft what he calls a 'big beautiful bill' of broader tax and spending cuts.
- Trump says on social media 'I'm OK' if Republicans raise taxes on the wealthy.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he could accept higher taxes on the rich – a reversal from his previous opposition – as his fellow Republicans in Congress grapple with tax-cut legislation.
Trump has repeatedly rejected raising taxes on the wealthy as a bad strategy because they would leave the country. He said in a social media post May 9 that “Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!”
The vexing tax issue illustrates the difficulty Republicans face in approving an overall taxing and spending package, what Trump calls "a big, beautiful bill," while facing unified opposition from Democrats.
Trump acknowledges possibility of 'TINY' tax hike on rich
“We don’t want to raise taxes on anybody,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox and Friends on May 9. “As the House – and they’re the first movers on this – as they look at how to accomplish the president’s ‘big beautiful bill,’ they’ve got to figure out how to wedge in all the things the president wants to do.”
Trump acknowledged Democrats would attack Republicans for a tax hike, and that raising taxes was blamed for former President George H.W. Bush’s reelection loss in 1992. But Trump contends third-party candidate Ross Perot was what cost Bush the election, not his reversal of his “read my lips” pledge not to raise taxes.
“The problem with even a ‘TINY’ tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips.’”
Trump aims for 'largest tax cut in American history': Leavitt
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters May 9 that Trump’s priority remains to have the biggest tax cut in history, including the extension of his 2017 tax cuts and the abolition of taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.
She said Trump personally wouldn’t mind paying “a little bit more to help the poor and the middle class and the working class in this country.” Leavitt said Trump would hold anyone who opposes the measure accountable in the next election.
“Anyone who opposes this bill will be opposing the largest tax cut in American history,” Leavitt added. “They will be voting to raise taxes to the tune of $4 trillion on the middle class of this country. We look forward to holding them accountable for that. Everyone on Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle should be supportive of the president’s tax priorities.”
House Republicans grapple with how much to cut taxes overall
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pledged in April to cut taxes by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. But some Republicans would like $500 billion more in tax cuts and simply extending tax cuts from Trump’s first term would cost another $4.5 trillion during that period.
Trump is scheduled to meet May 9 at the White House with the top tax-writer in the House, Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who heads the Ways and Means Committee.
The debate over taxes is fraught politically because of the narrow GOP majorities in the House and Senate. Republicans are crafting an overall package of taxes and spending under a parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation, which would allow the Senate to eventually approve the legislation with a simple majority, rather than needing to overcome a filibuster with a 60-vote majority.
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