Getty The White House's agenda

STEVE BANNON is now involved with talks to resuscitate House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump’s health care bill, according to multiple sources involved in the talks. The fundamentals have not changed -- the conservative House Freedom Caucus has not backed off its demands. But there are hopes that they can revive the process they blew up less than a week ago. Color us extraordinarily skeptical, for now. Read Rachael Bade, Kyle Cheney and John Bresnahan on the state of play http://politi.co/2of6k8d

TRUTH BOMB -- “5 Reasons Trump’s Promised Tax Overhaul Won’t Be So Easy,” by NYT’s Julie Hirschfeld Davis: “A leadership vacuum: The greatest hurdle to a tax overhaul may be the White House itself. Mr. Trump has yet to make basic decisions about the structure and scope of his plan, the strategy for pushing it through Congress or even who in his administration will be in charge of crafting and selling it. While White House officials said they would unveil a plan weeks ago, one has not materialized. … Deficits and debt … The border tax showdown … The winners-and-losers effect: It is a cliché in Washington to say that tax reform creates winners and losers. But it is true, and that is one of the most formidable obstacles that has frustrated previous efforts at enacting broad changes to the tax code. … Rules, rules, rules: The arcane procedural rules of Congress — the same ones that contributed to the demise of the health care repeal bill — will complicate the process of pushing through a tax overhaul.” http://nyti.ms/2nL1u4T


BUT, BUT, BUT … TAX/INFRASTRUCTURE BUZZ -- Here are some new theories bouncing around town.

-- A ONE-PARTY BILL. Despite Donald Trump’s proclamations that he is ready to deal with Democrats, that’s not the assumption Republicans are working under. Several top GOP sources told us that they are becoming increasingly skeptical that they will be able to win over Democrats on tax reform. The parties are way too far apart at this point, and they see no sign the gap is closing.

-- A REPATRIATION FUND. It’s not exactly “coupling” tax reform and infrastructure, but there is a strategy that could make the two work in tandem. Congress would write a tax reform package and create a “fund” with corporate dollars brought back from overseas. THIS IS NOT NEW! Paul Ryan and Chuck Schumer discussed this idea a few years ago. Discussions fell apart because Schumer wanted to spend more money than Ryan did. That’s not likely to be a problem this time around because Trump wants to spend big bucks.

GARY COHN and others will meet with Trump Thursday to talk through the various tax reform package options, Bloomberg’s Justin Sink and Matt Townsend report: https://bloom.bg/2o5IlLn

