ELECTION/HOUSE OF REPS/SENATE/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Call it the mystery middle class tax cut. In recent days President Donald Trump has twice promised a new ‘major tax cut’ ahead of the November midterm elections, mystifying White House officials, congressional leaders, and tax wonks around town who mostly have no idea what he’s talking about. The pledge — which Trump repeated Monday [10-22-18] afternoon — came as news to House and Senate lawmakers, who’ve already returned to their home states to campaign for the elections and have no plans to consider new legislation before then. White House officials spent the day trying to decode what Trump meant because no one knew the substance of any such tax cut, or had seen any policy proposal related to it. Aides were left wondering what Trump had read in newspaper clippings, or seen on Twitter, to inspire this grand promise from his rally podium.”
–Nancy Cook and Ben White, “Trump’s mystery tax cut puzzles Washington,” Politico, October 22, 2018 5:36 pm