Republicans privately vent that Trump's tax plan is 'not even close' to reform

Republican lawmakers are privately miffed at having been shut out of the White House's tax reform efforts, and many are none too pleased with what they heard yesterday. "It's not tax reform," one Republican aide told CNN. "Not even close."

Tax leaders on the Hill did not get a notice before the Trump administration announced it would be proposing its reform, multiple aides said, and the White House's proposal pointedly excludes a border adjustment tax on imports that was desired by Republicans. "We get that [the White House wants to] make a big show of leading the way on this, but that's not how this is supposed to work," an aide told CNN. The same aide added that House and Senate tax writers' work is ongoing, and that they are still attempting to reach an agreement about how to proceed.

"It's really easy to talk about big cuts," complained another aide. "We're about solutions. They aren't to that point yet, either on the policy or on the personnel level, and it's both obvious and disruptive to the process."

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Publicly, at least, Republicans aren't expressing their annoyance aloud. A measured House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday: "Progress is being made and we're moving and getting on the same page."

Read an analysis of Trump's tax plan that wasn't at The Week.