FILE PHOTO - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the "State of the International Financial System" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his department needs more time to decide whether to release President Donald Trump’s tax returns, missing a Wednesday deadline set by a House of Representatives committee.

In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, Mnuchin said: “The legal implications of this request could affect protections for all Americans against politically-motivated disclosures of personal tax information, regardless of which party is in power.”