J. Scott Applewhite / AP
House conservatives have spent the past few days in closed-door meetings in New York sorting out their differences over the Republican legislative agenda. What we know about the private conversations, per a source in the room:
- They remain divided on the border adjustment tax, the most controversial — and important — part of Paul Ryan's tax plan. A source in the room tells Axios: "There was a consensus on the desire to move tax reform quickly but there are still a number of unanswered questions on the border adjustment tax... There are a number of members that believe we should move forward with reducing both personal and corporate tax rates without the border adjustment provision."
- They largely agree on the need to repeal Obamacare swiftly. Our source says there was "consensus that we need to move forward with a repeal vote that is at least as robust as what we have previously passed in 2015 and that we should move quickly."
The two groups gathered: The House Freedom Caucus (~40 ultra conservative Republicans) and the Republican Study Committee (178 Republicans). The two have overlapping members, and the conservative Heritage Foundation sponsored the gathering.