Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who clashed with Bush over tax cuts, dies at 84

Paul O'Neill and George W. Bush.
(Image credit: LUKE FRAZZA/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill died Saturday at his home in Pittsburgh. He was 84. O'Neill had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer, and his family confirmed his death was not related to the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

O'Neill served as treasury secretary for 23 months throughout 2001 and 2002 under former President George W. Bush, but he was eventually fired after the two clashed over Bush's preference for tax cuts. In a 2010 memoir, Bush wrote the two simply "never clicked" but they never openly disagreed over tax policy. O'Neill confirmed the former, but maintained he took issue with tax reductions. Bloomberg reports that he also disagreed with the president's decision to invade Iraq.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.