I believe, as a matter of principle, that the debt is a problem that must be addressed sooner rather than later. I also know that fundamental changes are necessary in the way Washington spends and taxes if we truly want a healthy economy.
Mick MulvaneyThere was very polite, gentlemanly, and - and - and lady-like push-back on issues on both sides. Chuck Schumer continues to push this idea of this $30 billion tunnel under the Hudson River, um, that Donald Trump very politely pushed back on. But I thought it was cordial and productive. The president is not giving up on the wall, and he's certainly not giving up on border security.
Mick MulvaneyWe need to have the growth. If we simply look at this as being deficit-neutral, you're never going to get the type of tax reform and tax reductions that you need to get to sustain 3 percent economic growth. We really do believe that the tax code is what's holding back the American economy.
Mick MulvaneyWe are trying to get a border wall to protect millions of low income Americans against folks who aren't supposed to be here. So, it's a national security.
Mick MulvaneyMy dad told me something long before I was in politics, and when your dad gives you advice every single day, eventually one or two of the things stick in your mind. And he said, don't believe what people say, believe what they do.
Mick MulvaneyWhen the conversation started to move to the things that we disagreed on, Donald Trump moved it back to the things that we could agree on. I think that's the way you get deals done, right? You and I might disagree 80% of the time but that still gives us 20% opportunity to try to work things out.
Mick Mulvaney