Josh Hafner

USA TODAY

With his 100th day staring him metaphorically in the face, President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed out a tax reform plan with few details, no overall cost estimate and promises of big tax rate cuts for corporations.

Gary Cohn, Trump's economic adviser, called it a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something really big." Some members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, saw the plan as financially irresponsible. Trump's plan, seriously enacted, could up the deficit by as much as $390 billion per year, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation reported.

"The Trump tax plan does not pay for itself," said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. "America is a great nation, but we haven’t yet discovered magic."

It's OnPolitics Today: USA TODAY's daily politics roundup.

Trump's tax plan: 'We're working on lots of details'

Details on Trump's plan are scant enough to fit on a single sheet of paper, and aides stressed that most of the plan is flexible — a starting point to a long process of negotiation. Here's some of what the plan does spell out:

Cut the corporate tax from 35% to 15%

Double the standard tax deduction for individuals and married couples filing jointly

Shrink the number of income brackets from seven to just three — 10%, 25%, and 35%

Eliminate several deductions, including those for taxes paid to states and local governments

"We're working on lots of details," Cohn said. Read about the plan's potential for small businesses.

Government shutdown: It's two days away, people

The latest holdup in preventing a very real government shutdown came Wednesday in the form of subsidies meant to reduce health care costs for low-income families. These payments, part of the Affordable Care Act, defray costs for insurers providing lower-priced coverage. Trump threatened to dangle the payments over Democrats to make them cooperate with his efforts to replace the ACA.

"President Trump would be right to stand his ground against this foolish demand," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican.



But on Wednesday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus reportedly told Nancy Pelosi that the subsidies would indeed continue. Trump earlier this week backed off demands for immediate funding for a Southwest border wall — a concession that has seemed to embolden Democrats in negotiations.

The guys who foiled Trump's health care effort are now ready to play ball

The conservative spoilsports who torpedoed Trump's health care repeal efforts earlier this year now see a window for cooperation. The House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday said that recent changes to the GOP's Obamacare repeal permitted them to support the legislation, further opening the door for its passage.

A proposed amendment leaves many of Obamacare's mandates in place, but also lets states apply for waivers to avoid apparently pesky requirements such as coverage for maternity care and mental health treatment. And while insurance companies must still provide coverage for people with pre-existing conditions under the amendment, it's not clear that their costs wouldn't go up.

A Grand Canyon monument, plus 23 others, could lose federal protection under Trump

As if he doesn't have enough going on, Trump took time to sign an executive order targeting national monuments over 100,000 acres in size. The White Hosue released a list of those on the chopping block to potentially lose their federally protected status. They include the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in Arizona, as well as California's Giant Sequoia National Monument. See all 24 of the federal monuments here.

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