WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is thousands of miles away, but his policy agenda faces tests back home this week as he looks to shift the focus from Russia investigations to his plans for boosting American military power and revamping the tax code.
The White House on Tuesday will roll out a budget proposal crystallizing the president’s priorities in a blueprint that calls for large cuts to social safety-net programs such as Medicaid and food assistance while increasing Pentagon and border-security spending.
While Trump visits Pope Francis in Rome on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Washington will testify about Trump’s 2018 budget plan before the House Ways and Means Committee. The same congressional panel will hold a separate hearing devoted to a tax overhaul aimed at reducing rates and speeding job growth — a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign message.
Following a drumbeat of revelations about Trump and Russia over the past two weeks, the White House and congressional Republican leaders are eager to show that they can deliver on policy promises.
Read: Goldman slashes tax-cut expectation as Trump drama rages
A potential land mine for the Trump administration is a report coming out this week from the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan CBO will release its evaluation of the health-care bill that narrowly passed the House on May 4 following an intensive lobbying push by the White House.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com
https://www.wsj.com/articles/taxes-budget-are-focus-for-trump-despite-probes-1495414525
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Source: Market Watch Personal Finance
