Former House speaker dismisses GOP efforts to craft tax reform bill as \u201chappy talk\u201d and offers scathing assessment of Trump\u2019s first 100 days.<\/b>
\nFormer House speaker John Boehner dismissed GOP efforts to craft a tax reform bill as \u201chappy talk\u201d and offered a scathing assessment of President Trump\u2019s first 100 days in office while speaking at a conference this week.
The Ohio Republican said Trump has handled national security and foreign policy issues well, but added: \u201cEverything else he\u2019s done (in office) has been a complete disaster, \u201d according to Rigzone, a website that covers the oil and gas industry .
\u201cHe\u2019s still learning how to be president, \u201d Boehner said in remarks Wednesday at a global energy conference hosted by KPMG, a major accounting firm.
Boehner told the audience that Trump did the best he could in pushing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But he suggested the president\u2019s approach was wrong-headed. Trump should have worked to \u201crepair\u201d the law, not scrap it, Boehner asserted \u2014 something he never advocated while he was at the helm of the House.
Asked about GOP efforts to overhaul the tax code, the former House speaker said he was optimistic at the start of the year but he now doubts whether Republicans can pass such an ambitious bill .
\u201cTax reform is just a bunch of happy talk, \u201d he said. The House GOP proposal to impose a border tax on imports is \u201cdeader than a doornail, \u201d Boehner said, putting the overall odds of Republicans passing a bill at 60-40.
Boehner said he didn\u2019 t know anything about efforts by the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election. But he said Democrats are only hurting themselves by talking about impeachment of the president.
\u201cTalk of impeachment is the best way to rile up Trump supporters, \u201d he said. \u201cRemember, impeachment is not a legal process; it\u2019s a political process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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