Facing fierce criticism from the right on fiscal policy, President Donald Trump has developed a new sense of urgency. In an interview last weekend with Fox's Bill O'Reilly, when asked if Americans should expect a tax cut this year, instead of saying something along the lines of "yes, absolutely," Trump offered the more restrained, "I think so ... before the end of the year. I would like to say yes."
Such an expression of caution is unusual for the 45th President. Yet Thursday, Trump suddenly shifted gears, promising to announce a "phenomenal" tax reform proposal in an amazingly short two to three weeks.
Reforming the tax code is likely to be far more politically complicated than the Trump officials, most of whom are new to Washington, think. As a congressional staff aide and later an outside adviser, I worked on both the 1981 and 1986 tax reform packages.
