As President Trump's treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin should be one of the most effective advocates for Trump's $1.5 trillion tax plan. But it seems he's just getting in the way.
A new Politico report details how Mnuchin still hasn't gained House Republicans' trust, as well as some downright uncomfortable exchanges between the secretary and GOP congressmen.
Mnuchin's problems started when, in a September discussion on tax reform, he awkwardly asked House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling "for me." Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.) told The Hill that Mnuchin's comments were "about as well received as his wife's Instagram post."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mnuchin hasn't talked to many of those Republicans since, and Politico said the comment is still fresh in their minds. The treasury secretary is also often described as "quiet" and "socially awkward."
So even though the budget resolution passed by the House on Thursday should make it easier for the GOP to pass its prized tax plan, Mnuchin's attitude doesn't seem to be helping. You can read more about Mnuchin's profound awkwardness at Politico.
-
Music reviews: Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs, and Molly TuttleFeature "Star Line," "Interior Live Oak," and "So Long Little Miss Sunshine"
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitionsFeature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
