The director of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council signaled Thursday that the White House was open to keeping some of Obamacare’s taxes, which mostly affect the wealthy.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn acknowledged that there are “multiple issues we’re trying to solve,” referring to Senate Republicans’ bill to repeal Obamacare and make deep cuts to Medicaid. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delayed a vote on the bill Tuesday.
“We can’t solve every issue in the health care bill,” Cohn continued. “We’re going to tackle taxes. Yes, we’d love to cut some of the taxes that are in the Obamacare bill. And that would be a great thing to do. If we can’t cut them in the Obamacare bill, we’re still actively involved in tax and tax legislation.”
It was unclear if Cohn was talking about the possibility that the Obamacare repeal itself could fail, or whether he meant to imply that the repeal effort could succeed if Republicans kept Obamacare’s taxes.
Ruhle had asked about moderate Republicans who “want you to cut out that you’re going to have tax breaks in there, you’re going to have tax breaks for the rich.” Some moderate Republicans have said that they are uncomfortable with the large tax break wealthy Americans would receive if Obamacare was repealed.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), for example, told Bloomberg Wednesday: “I do not see a justification for doing away with the 3.8 percent tax on investment income, because that is not something that increases the cost of health care … So I distinguish between those tax increases that were part of Obamacare that increase premiums and the cost of health care versus those that do not.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday that, through 2026, Senate Republicans’ Obamacare repeal bill would increase deficits by $541 billion, “mostly by reducing tax revenues.”
Cohn emphasized separately in the interview that, whether or not Obamacare was repealed, “We were going to get to tax reform, if this passes, or it doesn’t pass. We are on a tax reform agenda when we come back in September, when the August recess is over. We will be 100 percent engaged in tax reform.”
But he may have inadvertently tipped the White House’s hand — that the Trump administration may be willing to keep Obamacare’s taxes if it meant earning moderate Republicans’ support.
Before moving on to the White House’s plans for changing the tax code, Ruhle asked about how poorly Republicans’ Obamacare repeal plan was polling with Americans.
“Is that what America wants?” she asked.
“America will be happy with what we give them,” Cohn said.
