Now , Trump and congressional Republicans are getting another chance to claim a big victory - an opportunity to rewrite the U . S . tax code for the first time in three decades . So far , Trump has shown no signs of modifying his approach . After dozens of closed-door meetings and public hearings , the White House and GOP leaders have still not sorted through many of the most vital details of Trump ' s promise to deliver the largest tax cut in U . S . history .
There is , in short , no hammered-out tax plan , only a ninepage framework of GOP goals that have yet to be filled in or agreed to . Lawmakers now plan to clash over the details , with the White House staying in touch but giving them room to negotiate . They stuck with the 20 percent tax-rate target in the " unified framework " released Wednesday , but some people close to Trump fear he might waver again .
Speaking Wednesday in Indiana , Trump said the tax rate would end up being " no higher than 20 percent ," leaving the door open for him to keep trying to push it lower . " These tax cuts are significant ," he said . " There ' s never been tax cuts like we ' re talking about ."
The nine-page document released Wednesday pales in scope to the 461-page tax plan the Reagan administration offered in 1985 that helped shepherd the last tax overhaul into law . On health care , infrastructure , the deficit and a range of other issues , the Trump administration has stopped short of specifying its platform . On Tuesday , Trump told a handful of Republicans and Democrats in a White House meeting that he was now opposed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure programs . He cited the example of a toll road in northern Indiana that fell into bankruptcy .
" He dismissed it categorically and said it doesn ' t work ," said Rep . Brian Higgins ( D-N . Y .), who brought up the issue with Trump at the White House . " And in fact , pointed to [ Vice President Pence ] and said they tried in their state and it didn ' t work ."
Senior administration officials were flabbergasted . They had spent months designing a $ 1 trillion infrastructure plan that centered on the idea of privatizing roads , air traffic control systems and other networks . On Wednesday , they were still trying to sort through whether Trump had misspoken or changed policy . Trump ' s team had planned to issue his infrastructure plan in May , but they have been beset by delays , in part because they cannot agree on how to finance the entire operation .
The indecision has been most evident on health-care policy . Trump vowed to roll back the Affordable Care Act on his first day in office , but the White House never advanced a single substantive health-care proposal , relying instead on Congress , which failed multiple times to enact changes into law . When
Donald Trump Best Trick Mike DeBonis , Troy Newmyer Washington DC October 2017
REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst U . S . President Donald Trump , flanked by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy Dina Powell (L) and National Security Adviser H . R . McMaster ( R ), poses for a picture with his National Security team to mark the 70th anniversary of the National Security Council , at the White House in Washington , U . S . September 28 , 2017 .
the House passed a bill in June , Trump said he supported it and hosted a Rose Garden celebration with dozens of lawmakers . He later complained to Senate Republicans that the bill was " mean " and said they needed to change it . He didn ' t specify how .
Similarly , he has cast about for ways to construct a wall along the U . S . border with Mexico , but the Trump administration has not settled on any approach , and key decisions keep getting postponed .
His budget proposal was so sparse on details that the Congressional Budget Office said they could not adequately review it , adding that " the proposals .. . are in many cases not sufficiently specified ," and in some cases found the White House ' s economic claims would " not be achievable ." There is not a complete White House plan to eliminate the deficit or expand access to health care , things that Trump has promised voters .
" I ' ve never seen an administration that so overpromised in terms of specific plans and under-delivered ," said Jason Furman , who served as deputy director of the National Economic Council and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration . " They promised detailed plans on everything and have put forward plans on nothing ."