Trump’s administration may have been mulling a tax hike on millionaires, but that conversation is OVER

Claims that Trump administration officials were mulling a tax hike on millionaires had one adviser suggesting why that “conversation should now be over.”

While efforts were underway to root out leakers from within various federal agencies, closed-door discussions continued to find their way into the public eye, including one such report on ways the White House was considering to make ends meet. As the 2017 tax cuts were set to expire, the Washington Post reported from inside accounts that some in the administration were open to raising taxes on those making $1 million and up annually.

Listing Vice President J.D. Vance and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought as open to the idea with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent considering an increase for those earning over $5 million annually, the newspaper detailed, “The concept, however, faces strenuous opposition, including from longtime allies of the president.”

“Outside Trump advisers Newt Gingrich, Steve Moore, and Larry Kudlow have come out strongly against it, arguing the plan undermines the president’s promise to cut taxes and will discourage economic growth, as has the influential Fox News host Sean Hannity,” the Post went on. “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and GOP Sens. Dave McCormick (Pennsylvania) and Ted Cruz (Texas), among other congressional Republicans, have also made clear that they dislike the idea of raising taxes and do not expect it to become incorporated into new legislation.”

To that end, Gingrich took to X on Tuesday with an “interesting note from the President,” which read, “Newt is quite possibly right on this. George Bush said, ‘READ MY LIPS, NO NEW TAXES,’ then proceeded to give a rather small Tax increase, and was obliterated.”

Asserting Democrats would weaponize such a move, the message added, “We don’t need to be the ‘READ MY LIPS’ gang who lost an Election, for no reason!”

I received an interesting note from the President. pic.twitter.com/cGQvDrhwWU

— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) April 22, 2025

“It’s pretty clear that that conversation should now be over,” the former speaker of the House told Politico. “The president’s comments indicate that the idea of raising the income tax is dead, that it doesn’t fit at all with where we’re going.”

By contrast, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon voiced favor for a reversion from 37% tax rate back to pre-2017’s 39.6% — impacting incomes over $626,350 — as well as higher taxes on those making over $1 million.

His support was intended to detract from leftist arguments that Republicans favored the wealthy, “This guts the AOC-Bernie ‘oligarch tour.’”

“Politically, it’s game, set, match — it’s a no-brainer. This would destroy the Democrats,” he added as American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Kyle Pomerleau projected the reversion would amount to $400 billion in added tax revenue over a decade.

While Vought’s spokesperson declined to comment and Vance’s reminded that the vice president supported the president’s priorities, a statement from the Treasury Department offered, “Our administration and Congress are considering a wide range of options. Secretary Bessent is laser-focused on executing the President’s policy agenda, which includes making his historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and no taxes on tips, overtime, and social security. The Republican Party is unified both in the Cabinet and in Congress in executing President Trump’s policies, with record pace and purpose.”

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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