Republicans Don’t Trust Cohn And Mnuchin On Tax Reform

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By Daniel J. Solomon September 13, 2017

As the White House readies for a tax overhaul push, some Republicans are expressing concerns about the point-men for the effort: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and economic adviser Gary Cohn.

Cohn and Mnuchin are both New York Democrats, who have occasionally broken with conservatives on social policy and even economic matters, leading some on the right to express concerns about a campaign on taxes spearheaded by the two.

“We don’t want our president and his administration moving all over the place away from Republican principles,” said to Politico Virginia Rep. David Brat, a Freedom Caucus member who ousted ex-House majority leader Eric Cantor.

“That’s where you wish you had conservatives lined up that say, ‘Mr. President, you do that, I’m quitting.’”

Other unidentified sources fumed to Politico about Cohn and Mnuchin’s tendency to cut deals, with a recent agreement on the debt ceiling used as grist for complaints.

“This is a guy, who for months, had lobbied for a clean debt ceiling increase and had no idea where the conference was and then suddenly switched,” said an unnamed congressional aide about Mnuchin’s work on the debt ceiling.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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