Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he recently urged Office of Management Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to stand back and let bipartisan negotiators on Hill find a compromise on how to keep the government running before it runs out of money at the end of this month.
“We can get this done,” the New York Democrat said on a conference call with reporters. “Democrats want to get this done. We hope our Republican colleagues don’t insist on things that force a government shutdown. But I think talks are going pretty well right and the White House doesn’t have to throw a monkey wrench into it right now.”
Schumer noted the Trump administration had come up with a budget proposal rejected by Democrats and some Republicans.
On tax reform, Schumer was asked the if issue is made more difficult by Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns.
“The President’s refusal to release his tax returns is bad in several ways,” Schumer responded. “One, I think he just has an obligation to come clean. When you clean up the swamp, it’s not keeping things secret and it applies to yourself.”
Schumer continued, “Second, there might be conflicts of interest that should be made clear. Third, it’s going to make tax reform much harder. Anytime he proposes something, the average American is going to say, ‘Oh he’s not doing that because it’s good for me but because it’s good for him.’ So for his own good he ought to make them public. And the big mystery is why he hasn’t.”
Trump has said he wants to focus on after a health care bill’s failure to pass last month.
