Senate Republicans Refuse to Be Led by Democrat Gary Cohn on Tax Reform

Making lifelong Democrat Gary Cohn the White House lead on tax reform was always a risky strategy. Democrats were unlikely to cooperate with the administration on anything and Republican lawmakers instinctively distrusted Cohn’s motives and positions.

What’s more, Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are political neophytes, unaccustomed to the ways of Washington and not familiar with the positions staked out by various interest groups. Many in Washington do not see them as long-term players in politics, expecting them to exit the administration and national politics before the midterm elections, if not earlier.

This has made them vulnerable to being out-maneuvered by lobbyists, lawmakers, and other long term inhabitants of the nation’s capital.

Not surprising, then, that Republicans are already publicly balking at the supposed leadership of Cohn and Mnuchin:

More