Vice President Pence said plainly on NBC's "Meet the Press" what has long been whispered at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue: The White House is fine with a tax cut that raises the deficit.

Pence: "[T]he early response [to the tax plan] on Capitol Hill has been very encouraging."

Moderator Chuck Todd: "I understand people are happy about it, but you are gonna increase the deficit."

Pence: "Well, maybe in the short term. But the truth is if we don't get this economy growing at three percent... we're never gonna meet the obligations that we've made today."

Why it matters: The administration's willingness to allow deficit spending to fund a tax cut makes it less likely that Speaker Paul Ryan will get his border adjustment tax. It could raise $1 trillion over a decade, but would do so in a way — making imported consumer goods more expensive — that's too painful for many key Republicans to stomach.