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WASHINGTON The top Republican on tax policy in the House of Representatives rejected the possibility of cutting taxes without fundamental changes to the U.S. tax code on Thursday, as the main actors in the tax reform debate prepared to meet for a fourth time.

With the window for tax reform narrowing, lobbyists and analysts say Congress could abandon comprehensive tax reform for simple tax cuts to reduce the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, well above the 15 percent advocated by President Donald Trump.

But House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, one of six principals involved in closed-door efforts to agree on legislation, told CNBC that such a measure would not meet the Republican goals of bolstering economic growth and enhancing U.S. business competitiveness overseas.

"It's not acceptable to me. I don't think it's acceptable to the House or anyone else, for that matter. Look, that won't make us competitive," Brady said. "Just doing low rates is a little like putting supercharged fuel in an old clunker of a tax car. There's no question it'll go faster. It can't keep up with the newer models on the road," he added. "We've got to go after a competitive design."

Brady spoke as principals prepared to meet later on Thursday. Members of the group have vowed to make good this year on a top Republican campaign pledge to overhaul the U.S. tax system. But while the principals have met three times, the discussions have major issues to resolve.

"How low we can get these rates; how do we stop businesses from continuing to leave the U.S.; and more importantly, how do we bring those supply chains back; how we deal with issues like full and unlimited expensing those are still parts of this discussion, Brady said.

Brady and House Speaker Paul Ryan are pushing for changes outlined in the "A Better Way" agenda released a year ago, including a border adjustment tax that would tax imports but exempt export revenues from federal tax.

The measure could raise more than $1 trillion in revenue to help pay for tax cuts and effectively resolve the problem of corporations shifting profits overseas. But it is opposed by some industries and unpopular with Republicans in the House and Senate who fear it would raise consumer prices.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

More than 80 percent of Americans want to limit firearms access for people with mental illness and require background checks at gun shows and in private sales, according to a Pew Research Center survey released on Thursday.

Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, known for pursuing a series of cases targeting public corruption and crime on Wall Street before President Donald Trump fired him in March, has struck a book deal.

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Leading US House Republican rejects tax cuts without reform - Reuters

Slate Magazine (blog)

Live Blog: The Senate Republican Health Care Bill Is Revealed Slate Magazine (blog) Senate Republicans have finally revealed their draft health care bill. We'll be live-blogging events throughout the day as voices on the Hill and elsewhere take stock of the legislation. Loading... Are Slate's comments not loading even after a few seconds?

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Live Blog: The Senate Republican Health Care Bill Is Revealed - Slate Magazine (blog)

Lawyer, author and longtime media entrepreneur and watchdog Steven Brill has this to say about the Senate repeal and replace health-care law set for its big reveal Thursday:

Dont miss: Why the financial markets are obsessed with health-care legislation

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Key Words: Why one Democratic governor is not willing to give up on Senate in health-care debate

Also: Senate Democrats hold scavenger hunt to find Republican health-care bill

The founder of CourtTV (which evolved into truTV) and the magazines American Lawyer and the late Brills Content, whose latest book is the best-selling Americas Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System, told MSNBCs Stephanie Ruhle that what the anticipated bill instead does is strip out Medicaid funding to deliver tax cuts.

As to the replace component, Brill has been every bit as dismissive.

Back in January, also as a guest on MSNBC, Brill had said he was willing to be that 10 years after the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, there would still be no replacement in large part because Obamacare was a Republican-style plan at its inception, rendering redundant any Republican replacement.

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Steven Brill: Republican 'repeal and replace' health-care efforts do neither - MarketWatch

Republican Ralph Norman had a good birthday Tuesday night, winning the special election to fill South Carolinas 5th District seat, albeit by a closer-than-expected margin.

Norman defeated Democrat Archie Parnell 51 percent to 48percent, with 100percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.

Norman, a former state representative, replacesformer Rep. Mick Mulvaney, who vacated the seat in February to become director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The incoming congressmanhas said he wants to join the House Freedom Caucus, of which his predecessor was a co-founder. (The caucus is invitation only.)

South Carolinas special election never caught on the way special elections did in Kansas, Montana or especially Georgia, where voters also went to the polls Tuesday. Democrats failed to rally behind Parnell, a former Goldman Sachs adviser, in a much tougher district for the party than Georgias 6th District.

President Donald Trump carried South Carolinas 5th District by nearly 19 points last fall.

Norman has fully embraced Trump, saying in a Saturday morning interview that the president is still popular in the district.Norman praised Trumps selection of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court and said hed support a Trump plan for infrastructure spending.

Hes one of these who doesnt give out blank checks, Norman said.

Asked about some of Trumps more controversial measures, such ashis executive orderto restrict travel from certain Muslim-majority countries, Norman said, Hes right on that, absolutely.

Norman went on to defend the president, whom he said has been treated unfairly by the media, especially when it comes to the investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 elections.

Theyve convicted President Trump already, Norman said of the press.

If you hear the criticisms, a lot of them are, We dont like the tweets. Well, my argument is, I dont have to read tweets. Its a choice. And the media has not given him a fair shot, and so this is his way of communications, Norman said.

Trumps election last year galvanized Norman to run for Congress.

When Nov. 8 came and we didnt have Hillary Clinton as president, I got motivated, he said. (Practically speaking, the 5th District also would probably not have been open had Clinton won.)

Would he have run to be a check on Clinton? I would have had to look at it. It would have been a serious detriment, he said. Im excited with Trump.

Norman cited North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, as a congressional role model. But he said he also respects House Speaker Paul D. Ryan.

I like him. Hes in it for the right reasons, Norman said of the Wisconsin Republican.

Tuesdays election was the third vote in this district this year. After party primaries in May, the top-two GOP finishers advanced to a runoff two weeks later. Norman defeated state House Speaker Pro Tempore Tommy Pope by just 221 votes.

Norman will fill the seat portrayed in the hit Netflix seriesHouse of Cards. He just finished watching the first season.

Its interesting, the congressman-electsaid.

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Republican Ralph Norman Wins Close Race in South Carolina - Roll Call

As a member of the Berkeley College Republican club, I table everyday which means I sit at a table on campus and try to recruit new members, have discussions with passersby, and expose Berkeley to the Republican platform. One day this past semester, though, I was sitting at the club table reading for my classes when I was approached by a red-haired woman who appeared as if she was dying to get something off her chest. I greeted her with the common salutation, Hi there, can I help you maam? From there, the conversation immediately declined.

In addition to verbally insulting my heritage I am a Hispanic-Asian she insisted that it was people like me who were making this country disgusting and an uninhabitable land. After she had finished venting to me, I smiled and simply replied as I do to all who would say the same, Thank you. You have a nice day.

Thats a pretty typical interaction between Republicans and the rest of liberal Berkeley.

It was my goal to meet open-minded individuals who had opposing views to that of mine, and would be welcoming of intellectual conversations on various hot-button topics. After having been at UC Berkeley for three years now, I am greatly disappointed.

I knew I was a Republican from the time of the Bush presidency (W., that is). That was when I was still in middle school in a predominantly blue city--Miami, Florida--where I attended liberal-leaning schools all the way through high school. At a young age I realized how fond I was of debates and discussions about politics. Thats part of what helped me in my decision-making process when selecting a university to attend. It was my goal to meet open-minded individuals who had opposing views to that of mine, and would be welcoming of intellectual conversations on various hot-button topics. After having been at UC Berkeley for three years now, I am greatly disappointed.

Now, for those of you who dont know, BCR has a bad name on campus, and its not just for being full of Republicans. It originates from those who wish to seek publicity through ego-driven stunts that actually detract from what we should be trying to accomplish on campus. For instance, instead of calling ourselves the Free Speech Movement only for the cameras, we should actually become the Free Speech Movement by calling for legislators to protect our First Amendment right. BCR has also pushed for a lawsuit to be filed against the university in the hopes of granting us the freedom to invite high-profile speakers to the campus. However, the lawsuit has done nothing to remedy that situation and has been dragged out to soak up media attention. Our lawyers should be frantically pushing the envelope and getting us our freedom as soon as possible so that we may once again invite speakers to our campus without the infringement of the administration.

Our club, as with all clubs, is not perfect. I remain a member because I want to change BCR from the inside for the better. And until certain attention-seeking colleagues of mine and the angry liberals around me realize how far they have fallen, I remain a moderate stuck in the middle, fighting for reasonable discussion on two fronts.

It is obvious that Republicans at Berkeley are a minority and may never have a majority. That is not my intention though. Right now, the first step is simply getting the word Republican to be tolerated. The way things are now, I feel reluctant in expressing my political opinions in class or in professional settings as it could be detrimental to my education. There are certain departments on campus that I know are not welcoming to conservative students. After all, I was physically attacked by a Graduate Student Instructor employed by UC Berkeley. If he is willing to try and do me physical harm, what is stopping him from tampering with my grades? So, for now, I choose to be silent in the classroom. But I hope its not like that forever.

I merely want to listen to people who are interested in calmly deliberating their political opinions--even those that are different from my own--and backing their thoughts with facts and sources. But that cant happen as long as people on campus treat Republican like its a dirty word.

And yet, I have hope. Every so often, when I spend all day tabling on Sproul Plaza, there are some individuals who will come up to me and engage in a lively conversation -- a real conversation. Well go back and forth on the ethics of abortion, or global warming, or gun regulations, for hours at a time. In some cases, we start agreeing and coming up with new ideas on how to tackle these issues. And in these moments, it feels like the UC Berkeley I originally came for.

Jonathan Chow is a second-generation immigrant who grew up in Miami, Florida. His mother was born in Havana, Cuba and his father in Canton, China both fled to the US as teenagers. He is a student at UC Berkeley majoring in early modern intellectual history.

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A Republican at Berkeley: What it's really like - Fox News