New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sat down with President Trump on Tuesday to discuss revising a portion of Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul, a measure Cuomo contends is driving the wealthy out of the state.
Before they were done, Trump had shifted gears to a discussion of his concerns about the state’s late-term abortion bill.
Cuomo was visiting the White House to discuss the $10,000 cap on federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), a provision he says is contributing to a dip of more than $2 billion in tax receipts.
The Democratic governor has said his state's highest earners are leaving because the deduction cap means they could see substantial increases in their federal tax bills. The same holds true for residents in New Jersey and California.
CUOMO BLAMES FEDERAL TAX LAW ON $2.3 BILLION NEW YORK BUDGET DEFICIT
"President Trump talked about the positive impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the American economy, and the president listened to the governor's concerns regarding SALT,” a statement from the White House read.
Prospects for new tax legislation that would expand or remove the $10,000 cap are slim, given the Republican majority in the Senate concern about potentially increasing the deficit without corresponding new revenue sources.
Michael Zona, a spokesman for Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, said: "It's ironic that the same Democrats who criticized the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for supposedly benefiting only the wealthy are now advocating for a change to the law that would primarily benefit the wealthy.”
But Tuesday's conversation wasn't limited to taxes and tax legislation. Trump took aim at Cuomo and other Democrats over controversial late-term abortion legislation recently rolled out in New York and Virginia.
“The president raised his concerns to Governor Cuomo about Democrats’ support of late-term abortions,” the White House statment read.
CUOMO BRUSHES OFF CRITICISM OF NEW YORK ABORTION LAW: ‘I’M NOT HERE TO LEGISLATE RELIGION’
Cuomo recently defended the legislation, which would permit abortions to be performed in New York by non-doctors up until the point of birth for a variety of reasons. “The Catholic Church doesn’t believe in a woman’s right to choose. Yes, I understand their religious view,” he said. “But I'm not here to legislate religion.”
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Trump has said he wants Congress to pass a ban on late-term abortion of fetuses that "can feel pain in the mother's womb" — an unlikely proposition, given Democratic control of the U.S. House.
Fox News’ Caleb Parke and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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