Trump debt limit deal undermines trust among GOP on tax overhaul

Bloomberg

The White House said President Donald Trump cut a short-term debt ceiling and government spending deal with Democrats to clear the deck for a major tax bill. But the agreement could be complicating tax efforts by eroding trust within his own party.
Not only has the deal sowed doubt among the GOP about its unpredictable president, but it’s also driving a wedge between Republicans and their leaders in Congress, just as the party is desperate to deliver on one of its top priorities.
And the calendar is unforgiving. Congress needs to reauthorize funds for the children’s health insurance program and federal aviation programs before September 30 and lawmakers are still trying to address Obamacare. In addition, they may need to provide additional hurricane relief funds after the devastation in Florida following Hurricane Irma prompted the state’s Senator Bill Nelson to push for Congress to approve another emergency aid package by mid-October.
Republicans also have to agree on a 2018 budget resolution — a necessary step to unlock the procedural maneuver they intend to use to pass the tax plan with 50 votes in the Senate. The lack of details of a tax plan is frustrating members of the House Freedom Caucus, who are making clear they’re ready to effectively hold the budget resolution hostage until they get some specifics from their leaders. “It’s very hard to hard to vote on a budget resolution, which has as its sole objective to move tax reform, when you don’t know what tax reform looks like,” said Representative Dave Brat, a House Freedom Caucus member from Virginia. “That’s our objection. There’s problems across the whole conference, from moderates to fiscal conservatives.”

‘ENEMY IS TIME’
The Freedom Caucus’s chairman, Mark Meadows of North Carolina, said last week “the enemy is time” and called for passage of a bill by Thanksgiving. Even if
Republicans are able to work through their differences and
cobble together a plan, it’s likely the final pieces would be put in place just as negotiations heat up again over the next debt ceiling-government spending battle, with funding set to run out December 8.