“We have so much in common with the Trump administration, it wouldn’t make sense to have a separate tax bill from Secretary Mnuchin, a separate one from Gary Cohn,
a third from whomever,” Mr. Brady said on Fox News, referring to the Treasury secretary, Steven T. Mnuchin, and to one of Mr. Trump’s top economic advisers.
However, facing a backlash from retailers, energy companies and conservative think tanks
that warn that consumer prices will soar under the House Republican plan, Mr. Trump and Mr. Mnuchin have sounded cool to the idea.
Mr. Trump is under added pressure not to again fail supporters who he promised would “get sick of all the winning.”
“They need to cut taxes, cut spending, and build the wall,” said Judson Phillips, the founder of the conservative group Tea Party Nation.
“If they will do that, the base will be forever in love with them.” He said he did
not want Mr. Trump to get bogged down in Mr. Ryan’s complicated tax agenda.
Mr. Brady said on Sunday that getting rid of the contentious border tax provision would have “severe consequences” and
that he hoped to produce a bill based on the House plan this spring that would be passed later this year.
Mr. Trump followed Mr. Ryan’s lead and lost, making it more likely that the White House will try to steer the direction of tax legislation.
