Fiscal tax fight challenges Mnuchin's loyalty to Trump

treasury secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinTrump will appoint a Treasury official to head the Small Business Administration Bipartite lawmakers call for sanctions against China for human rights reasons Retailers predict that the closure of the southern border would provoke "serious damage" MORE faces a difficult test after the Democrats' formal demand President TrumpDonald John TrumpGroups asks the judge to suspend the construction of a border wall. Trump criticizes Barbara Bush: "Look what I did to her son" A man accused of throwing water balloons at Trump's crowd: "I did this that I had to do "is the tax return.

Mnuchin was one of the most loyal members of Trump's cabinet, defending the policies and personal conduct of the president when others moved away.

Now, as the president's main line of defense, he will have to balance his loyalty to Trump against a demand that, according to many experts, leaves him with little room for maneuver.

"[The] The application tests Mnuchin's oath of office: whether Mnuchin will faithfully enforce US laws or whether he will comply with the president's wishes, "said Steve Rosenthal, a senior associate of the Urban Policy Policy Center. Urban-Brookings who testified before Congress in February about the need to seek Trump's tax returns.

House Committee on Ways and Means Richard NealRichard Edmund NealHouse, Republican responsible for the budget, says that Dems' request for Trump's tax returns is an attempt to "falsify" the tax code. & # 39; for tax return request PLUS (D-Mass.) On Wednesday evening, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig received an application for registration of Trump's personal and professional tax returns for a six-year period. Neal made his request under part of section 6103 of the federal tax code which states that the Secretary of the Treasury "shall provide" tax returns to the chairpersons of the congressional tax commissions upon written request, provided that the documents are consulted in camera.

Trump – the first president for decades to voluntarily disclose any of his returns – quickly stated that he did not like the request.

"Until I'm not audited, I would not be inclined to do it," he said on Wednesday.

When asked on Thursday that he would order the IRS not to disclose his statements, Trump responded, "They will talk to my lawyers and the Attorney General."

As head of the department that includes the IRS, Mnuchin will face pressure from Trump and congressional Republicans to defeat Democrats' demand.

The key Republicans criticize the demand. The best Republican on the Committee of Ways and Means, Rep. Kevin BradyKevin Patrick BradyDems officially requests Trump's tax returns. The bill on bipartite IRS reform is heading to the House Congress that could adopt bipartite retirement reforms. But they must go further MORE (R-Texas), said Wednesday in a letter to Mnuchin that the request was "an abuse of the statutory power of the tax drafting committees," adding that it weakened the Americans' right to keep their personal information confidential.

Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyIowa Republican about the Trump claim: If the sound of a windmill was causing cancer, I would have cancer from the church bell The Hill & # 39; s 12:30 Report support publication of the Mueller & # 39; PLUS report (R-Iowa) said on Thursday that the courts had ruled that congressional requests for information must have legitimate legislative aims, and the Democrats have gone bankrupt on that front.

"They have no purpose," he said. "All they have is a lot of excuses."

At a hearing before the Ways and Means Committee last month, Mnuchin said the Treasury would "respect the law and protect the president, as well as taxpayers, with respect for their rights."

Treasury has not commented on the tax return application since it was issued.

Trump has often publicly criticized members of his administration, but Mnuchin has avoided his anger.

Mnuchin has been a fierce Trump loyalist and defender of his agenda, supporting the president's positions and controversial comments, though they differ from his own views.

Former Goldman Sachs banker and producer in Hollywood was chairman of the campaign finances and Trump's economic advisor before being called to head the Treasury Department.

Mnuchin, a pro-corporate Republican, shared Trump's support for lowering taxes and easing bank regulation, if not protectionist trade policy.

However, if senior White House officials said Mnuchin had expressed deep concerns about Trump's in-camera tariffs, he supported the president's commercial program in public and in negotiations with his Chinese counterparts.

Mnuchin also proved loyal to Trump's reaction to violent white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

Mnuchin, who is Jewish, insisted that the president was not racist and did not sympathize with the Nazis.

His response was very different from that of his Jewish colleague, former director of the National Economic Council. Gary CohnGary David CohnTrump makes fun of wind energy: "When the wind does not blow, simply turn off the television" On The Money: The Senate rejects the border statement reprimanding Trump | Dems press Mnuchin on Trump tax returns | Waters says Wells Fargo should fire his CEO, Gary Cohn, says Trump's commercial adviser is the only economist in the world to believe in tariffs. MORE, who threatened to resign after Trump's remarks.

Although Mnuchin is one of the few cabinet representatives to remain mainly on the side of the president, Trump accused the secretary of recommending Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump blamed Powell for impeding the US economy by presiding over four interest rate hikes and called the Fed "the biggest threat" to US economic growth.

Democrats who criticized Mnuchin's role in promoting Trump's program said the IRS, not the Treasury Secretary, should process the tax return application.

"Secretary Mnuchin should have no involvement in the response to President Neal's request regarding President Trump's tax returns", member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenOpening of the night: the interior goes towards the confirmation of the Senate | Democrats want investigation into candidate's role in pesticide report | The parliamentary climate commission holds its first hearing More than 30 Senate Democrats in the Senate ask Trump to reconsider aid cuts in Central America Democrats want to investigate the role of the Interior candidate in the deletion of the report on endangered species MORE (D-Ore.) Said in a statement Thursday. "The tax returns are kept at the IRS and it is up to Commissioner Rettig to fulfill his legal obligations. If Secretary of State Mnuchin interposed, it would be blatant political interference.

The law in question mentions the Secretary of the Treasury. However, Neal's office stated in a document entitled "Frequently Asked Questions" that the President had sent the request to Rettig, as the IRS was generally processing applications under Article 6103 and that the secretary Treasury had delegated the administration and enforcement of tax laws to the IRS.

Both Mnuchin and Rettig are scheduled to testify at congressional hearings next week, and lawmakers are likely to pressure them to ask them to respond to Democrats' demand for tax returns.

Democrats and advocates say there is no good reason for the administration not to comply.

They criticize Republicans' concerns about privacy, saying there is a difference between asking the president's tax returns and those of others. They also note that Neal's request was limited to six years of documents and only requested the return of eight Trump commercial entities, and that Neal explained its request as necessary to see whether the IRS was properly following its audit policy. Presidents.

"Congressional oversight of the Congress and how it audits the President is at the heart of Congress's oversight responsibilities," said Seth Hanlon, senior researcher at the Center for American Progress.

The Democrats also challenged Trump's comments about not providing his statements during the audit, saying the law under which they were filing tax returns did not leave the matter in his hands.

"With all due respect to the President, we did not ask him for tax returns, we asked the IRS Commissioner," said the representative. Dan KildeeDaniel (Dan) Timothy KildeeOn The Money: Trump Issues an Emergency Order Failing the Boeing 737 Max Jets | Senate discussions on emergency resolution collapse | Progressives call for defense freeze in budget talks Dem: Congress may need to summon Boeing Trump issues emergency order to cancel Boeing 737 Max jets PLUS (D-Mich.), Member of the Ways and Means Committee, told The Hill on Thursday.

Republican strategists predict that Mnuchin will get involved and that it will be an easy decision for him to reject the Democrats' demand.

"You have never seen a cabinet secretary of this level fight for the administration," said Ford O'Connell, GOP strategist. He predicted that Mnuchin would probably let the issue go to court.

Conservative pressure to defend Trump will likely be intense.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said Mnuchin should stress that tax data should be private information.

"It's a scandalous request and he's working for the president," he said.