Republican pitches raising corporate taxes — then scrambles to backtrack: report

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) this week scrambled to backtrack after he floated raising the corporate tax rate during a meeting with fellow House Republicans.

Punchbowl News reports that Arrington this week was "presenting a series of slides when he landed on a suggestion that sent people on and off Capitol Hill into a frenzy — raising the corporate tax rate."

The Texas Republican claimed that this slide made it into his presentation by "mistake" and he emphasized that a tax hike on corporations "wasn’t even on the table" when it comes to solutions to shrink the budget deficit.

As Punchbowl goes on to show, Arrington isn't backtracking on his plans to take a hammer to programs that benefit America's poorest citizens.

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"Beyond the tax arena, Arrington is pushing for trillions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid and discretionary spending over the next decade, as well as controversial changes to food stamps and federal welfare programs,:" Punchbowl writes. "The Texas Republican’s budget proposals, aka 'Reverse The Curse,' are being pitched across the House GOP Conference. And they’ll be part of what Arrington discusses when top House Republicans head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to talk reconciliation with Trump."

The publication quotes Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) as sounding a skeptical note on Arrington's designs for Medicaid, however.

"I would want to see how you’re going to do it," he told Punchbowl. "If all you’re doing is going in and slashing and burning, I don’t know if that’s the right way to do it."