Indiana is poised to be the location of the White House’s next push for tax reform.
According to the Indiana GOP, President Donald Trump plans to visit the state next wee
And according to Politico, Vice President Mike Pence is planning to visit his home state three times in the next few weeks with the intention of pressuring Sen. Joe Donnelly into supporting the tax reform bill. Donnelly is up for re-election next year and has been targeted as “vulnerable,” which the White House hopes to use to its advantage to win bipartisan support over its tax proposal.
Pence plans to travel to Indiana on September 22, September 29, and October 20, according to a senior administration official who gave Politico the insider scoop. Donnelly met with President Donald Trump and a group of senators last week over dinner to discuss backing the tax reform bill.
Rep. Susan Brooks also met with a bipartisan group of House members and Trump at the White House last week to negotiate tax reform, according to IndyStar. “He is very enthusiastic about tax reform,” said Brooks about Trump’s efforts and the meeting. “He would like for it to be bipartisan. He also indicated that if it won’t be bipartisan, we’re going to go ahead.”
Indiana becoming the battleground for tax reform opens a door for local small business owners to join the conversation and to let legislators know that tax reform must start with small business.