But Trump and the "Big Six" still seem like they're on different pages when it comes to the details: the president has said that the plan will in no way benefit the wealthy (yet its outlines suggest it will do just that); and has declared he would like to slash the corporate rate to 15 percent despite some apparently rare consensus among tax negotiators they can’t achieve a rate lower than 20 percent.

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What is clear is that Republicans and the president badly want to move on to what they view as more favorable terrain after the disastrous attempt to repeal Obamacare (though there's some reporting out there suggesting that health care will be revived somehow). They hope a tax code rewrite -- a favorite with both the conservative base and the business establishment -- will redeem them.

“My primary focus, I must tell you — and has been from the beginning as you can imagine — is taxes,” Trump said Sunday. “I believe we will be successful in the largest tax cut in our country’s history.”

Brand new polling data from a Washington Post-ABC news survey reveals most voters aren't as enthused. As my colleague James Hohmann points out over in The Daily 202 this morning, the poll finds only 28 percent of respondents support Trump's tax plan, given what they know about it, and 44 percent oppose it (while 34 percent have no opinion yet). A majority — 51 percent — think the proposal will benefit the rich, and only 10 percent believe it will mainly help the middle class. A relatively meager 60 percent of Republicans are on board; and while 15 percent of all voters strongly support the push, 33 percent oppose it strongly.

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Setting the poll aside, those counting on the project's success — including investors enjoying the stock market rally that's arguably priced in action on an overhaul — could have reason to believe Trump stands on firmer footing as he moves into this debate. By his own accounting, it's the corner of public policy that he has tangled with most directly in his life as a businessman. Recall that a year ago today, when Trump met Hillary Clinton in their first presidential debate, the Democratic nominee accused him of not paying income taxes (we can't be certain as Trump has not released his tax returns). “That makes me smart,” an unapologetic Trump replied.

Watch the exchange here:

A few days later, the New York Times reported that Trump claimed a $916 million loss on his 1995 tax returns, “a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.”

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Trump doubled down, arguing the revelation only demonstrated his mastery of the system. ““I mean, honestly, I have brilliantly — I have brilliantly used those laws,” Trump said at the time. “I was able to use the tax laws of this country, and my business acumen, to dig out of the real estate mess — you would call it a depression — when few others were able to do what I did.”

His accountant told a different version of the story. Jack Mitnick — who first prepared Trump’s father’s taxes, then worked for the real estate developer for three decades — told CNN that Trump played a “virtually zero” role formulating his own tax strategy. And Mitnick told the Times that when Trump and his then-wife Ivana came in to sign their forms, “it was almost always Ivana who asked more questions.”

The last president to sign a major rewrite of the tax code into law wasn’t a CPA, either. But as the Trump team prepares to lift the curtain on its third version of a tax framework, the president’s continued statements at odds with what little consensus they’ve achieved risk revealing him as an emperor with no clothes.

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MARKET MOVERS

— Puerto Rico crisis deepens. The New York Times: "Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico said on Monday that the island was on the brink of a “humanitarian crisis” nearly a week after Hurricane Maria knocked out its power and most of its water, and left residents waiting in excruciating lines for fuel. He called on Congress to prevent a deepening disaster.

Stressing that Puerto Rico, a United States territory, deserved the same treatment as hurricane-ravaged states, the governor urged Republican leaders and the federal government to move swiftly to send more money, supplies and relief workers. It was a plea echoed by Puerto Rico’s allies in Congress, who are pushing for quick movement on a new relief bill and a loosening of financial debt obligations for the island, which is still reeling from a corrosive economic crisis."

Trump weighed in with a series of tweets on Monday night, noting in part that the island's creditors still need to be paid:

Not everyone thought that emphasis was appropriate:

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MONEY ON THE HILL

— Defenders of the state and local deduction step up. A new lobbying coalition that's sprung up to protect the deduction for state and local taxes is out with a new report showing the write-off benefits the middle class. Expect a lot more of these as tax-writers begin to target sources of new revenue. Washington Examiner's Joseph Lawler: "The analysis, published by the Government Finance Officers Association, found that nearly 86 percent of the taxpayers who claimed the credit had an adjusted gross income under $200,000 in 2015."

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— Hill staff are trading stocks despite conflicts. Politico's Maggie Severns: "A POLITICO review of federal disclosures for 2015 and 2016 found that some senior aides regularly buy and sell individual stocks that present potential conflicts of interest with their work. A smaller number of staffers trade in companies that lobby Congress and the committees that employ them. In all, approximately 450 aides have bought or sold a stock of more than $1,001 in value since May 2015. That’s likely just the tip of the iceberg, since most congressional aides aren’t required to report their trades." (Paging Brody Mullins.)

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— House Dems block FAA reauthorization. Politico's Heather Caygle and Laura Gardner: "House Democrats on Monday blocked a Republican push to fast-track an FAA extension, with just days to go until current law expires Sept. 30. Top Democrats announced plans to vote against the six-month extension earlier in the day, citing opposition to unrelated Republican add-ons dealing with flood insurance, tax credits for victims of recent hurricanes and expiring health care programs... House Republicans are expected to bring up the bill again under a rule — which requires only a simple majority for passage — later this week. But Senate Democrats are also uneasy with the extension, and it's unclear whether they would block the bill in the upper chamber."

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POCKET CHANGE

— AIG restructuring into three units. New CEO Brian Duperreault is putting his stamp on the company with a plan that includes eliminating its separate consumer and commercial businesses. "Under the new structure, AIG will have a general insurance business, a life and retirement unit and a stand-alone technology unit. Two of those businesses will be led by longtime colleagues Duperreault recruited to AIG in July," Reuters' Suzanne Barlyn, Sweta Singh report.

— Deloitte hacked. CNNMoney's Alanna Petroff: "The cybersecurity breach, which was first reported by The Guardian newspaper on Monday, impacted "only very few clients," Deloitte said in an emailed statement... The hack compromised 'confidential emails and plans of some of its blue-chip clients,' but the breach went unnoticed for months. It reported that six clients were told their information was 'impacted.'"



— Uber apologizes in London. The New York Times' Prashant S. Rao and Amie Tsang: "Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, apologized in an open letter on Monday for the company’s “mistakes,” after the transport authority for London said last week that it would not renew the ride-hailing service’s license to operate in the city... The statement did not specify what, exactly, Uber was apologizing for, but the conciliatory tone represented a stark change for a company that, under its previous chief executive, Travis Kalanick, was better known for its aggressive approach from the get-go. Uber intends to appeal the decision last Friday by Transport for London, a move that would prevent the company from doing business in its biggest European market, and it will be allowed to continue to operate during the appeals process."

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— Target pledges $15 wage by 2020. Reuters' Richa Naidu: "The Minneapolis-based retailer, which plans to start hiking minimum pay across its stores to $11 an hour in October, provided assurances that the move would not hurt its previously announced full-year and quarterly earnings forecasts. Amid increasing competition for workers in a strengthening labor market, the 'Fight for Fifteen' movement -- a union-led push for a $15 minimum wage -- has been gaining traction in cities across the country."

TRUMP TRACKER

— Mnuchin gets a close-up, ready or not. With the tax debate finally ready to take center stage in Washington, Trump's top economic priority is set to test the mettle of his treasury secretary, a political newbie.

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The Wall Street Journal's Richard Rubin and Kate Davidson give Mnuchin the profile treatment: "Mr. Mnuchin is tackling this terrain with less political experience than any other recent Treasury secretary. He didn’t follow the trajectory of Henry Paulson or Robert Rubin, who acquired Washington contacts while leading Goldman Sachs Group Inc. And while Mr. Mnuchin has a close relationship with the president, it doesn’t appear to be like that of James Baker with Ronald Reagan, which allowed Mr. Baker to manage the last major revamp of the tax code. By contrast, Mr. Mnuchin this month found himself overruled by the president on a policy issue, the debt ceiling."

A couple more nuggets: On how Mnuchin ended up on the Trump Train : "He had no formal campaign role until he stopped by Mr. Trump’s New York primary victory party at Trump Tower on April 19, 2016, on his way to dinner. Mr. Trump spotted him while stepping off the elevator and invited him onto the stage. 'The next thing I know I’m standing right behind him, and I’m on national TV, on four different monitors, my phone is like going crazy buzzing,' recalled Mr. Mnuchin, who is 54 years old. Mr. Trump phoned the next morning to offer him the job of campaign finance chairman."

On the advice he got from past secretaries: "In a May dinner that included former Treasury and Federal Reserve leaders, Mr. Rubin and Lawrence Summers, both former Democratic Treasury secretaries, cautioned Mr. Mnuchin about making public statements that could undermine his credibility in markets, according to a person familiar with the matter."

— Bloomberg's Al Hunt weighs in, too: "Tax-reform season should be Steve Mnuchin's time to shine, but there are good reasons to doubt that the Treasury secretary is ready for the spotlight."

RUSSIA WATCH:

— Russians showed sophistication with Facebook ads. The Post's Adam Entous, Craig Timberg and Elizabeth Dwoskin: "The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African American rights groups, including Black Lives Matter, and others suggesting that these same groups pose a rising political threat, say people familiar with the covert influence campaign. The Russian campaign — taking advantage of Facebook’s ability to send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics — also sought to sow discord among religious groups. Other ads highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women."

— Stone will deny collusion. The Post's Karoun Demirjian and Tom Hamburger: "Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone plans to fiercely deny to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he had any contact, much less colluded, with Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election, according to a prepared opening statement he shared with The Washington Post. Stone also plans to deny that he had any advance knowledge that emails of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta would be hacked or that his emails would then be released by WikiLeaks — despite tweeting just days before that Podesta’s 'time in the barrel' would soon be coming."

— Kushner's private email fallout continues. Now a top House Republican is demanding details on Trump aides' private accounts. The request follows the revelation that Jared Kushner used a private email address for government business. Politico's Kyle Cheney and Rachael Bade: "Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, along with his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, called for the Trump White House to disclose by Oct. 9 the names of any top administration officials who use a private email address for government work and to identify any accounts and cell phone numbers that may have been used to transmit encrypted messages.

Here was Matt Miller, a spokesman for Justice Department in the Obama administration, on the gall of the Trump team using unofficial accounts after lambasting Hillary Clinton for doing precisely that:

Kushner isn't the only one. "Stephen K. Bannon, the former chief White House strategist, and Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff, also occasionally used private email addresses. Other advisers, including Gary D. Cohn and Stephen Miller, sent or received at least a few emails on personal accounts, officials said," per The New York Times' Matt Apuzzo and Maggie Haberman.

THE REGULATORS

— CFPB arbitration vote today? The Senate could vote as soon as today to scuttle the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule making it easier for consumers to sue banks and credit card companies, the Wall Street Journal and others reported. It's not clear whether Senate Republicans have the votes, but word of the possible vote sent CFPB defenders on and off the Hill onto high alert.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered a floor speech urging constituents to contact their senators:

— CFTC wants industry wrongdoers to self-report. Good luck with this: "A top U.S. markets regulator unveiled a new enforcement framework that relies more heavily on firms to self-report wrongdoing and gives them new incentives to cooperate with probes," the Wall Street Journal's Gabriel Rubin reports. "James McDonald, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s enforcement director, announced the strategy during a speech at New York University on Monday. Though the agency already has incentives to encourage firms to cooperate with investigations, the new framework says that penalties will be reduced by a 'substantial' amount in cases where the firm fully cooperates."

— SEC chair learned of hack three months after the fact. Reuters' Pete Schroeder and Sarah Lynch: "The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission belatedly found out in August, about three months after being confirmed, that hackers breached the regulator’s database of corporate announcements in 2016, according to prepared congressional testimony seen by Reuters on Monday. The SEC’s enforcement staff and inspector general’s office have launched internal investigations into the breach and whether hackers illegally traded on non-public information they stole from the EDGAR filing system, Jay Clayton will tell the Senate Banking Committee at a hearing on Tuesday."

OPINIONS

CHART TOPPER

DAYBOOK

Today

The National Association for Business Economics annual meeting continues.

SEC chairman Jay Clayton will testify before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan will testify before the Senate Banking Committee.

The Atlantic and Aspen Institute’s Washington Ideas Week begins.

Equifax CEO Richard Smith will testify before the House Financial Services Committee.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold an oversight hearing of the SEC.

Coming Up

The Financial Services Roundtable holds an event on “How Tax Reform Can Secure the Futures of America’s Workers” on Wednesday .

The National Economists Club will hold an event on “Globalization in Crisis and the Rise of Populism” on Thursday .

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs holds a hearing on evaluating sanctions against North Korea on Thursday .

The Brookings Institution holds an event on perspectives on securities regulation on Thursday .

The American Enterprise Institute holds an event on how "decade of extreme monetary policy changed the banking system" on Oct. 10.

THE FUNNIES

BULL SESSION

Anthony Weiner is sentenced to 21 months in prison for sending lewd photos to a minor:

See this history of athletes using the national anthem to protest: