'We're Getting Close!' Trump in Asia Sets Sights on Tax Reform Back Home 

WASHINGTON – President Trump has been traveling through Asia for the past two weeks but that hasn't kept him out of the tax reform debate on Capitol Hill. 
 
Trump has spoken regularly to several lawmakers about tax reform, including House Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady, R-Texas, while he's been away.  
 
"When you get the tax code right, where our local businesses compete anywhere in the world, when Washington takes less of what you earn, the economy does grow and paychecks do grow," Brady told Fox News on Sunday. 
 
Trump has also been tweeting about tax reform, releasing this tweet Monday: 
 
"I am proud of the Rep. House & Senate for working so hard on cutting taxes {& reform.} We're getting close! Now, how about ending the unfair & highly unpopular Indiv Mandate in OCare & reducing taxes even further? Cut top rate to 35% w/all of the rest going to middle income cuts?"

But neither of the House and Senate bills includes a repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate, and adding it at this point might make passing a tax bill more difficult. 
 
Trump will also be personally involved when he meets with House Republicans on Thursday ahead of the vote on their tax reform bill. 
 
Brady is confident they'll have enough votes and he disagrees with projections that millions of middle class Americans would pay more if the House bill became law. 
 
"They're keeping more of what they earn. Their paychecks are finally growing. This economy is finally moving again," he told Fox News. "I firmly believe Americans are far better off under tax reform than they are sticking with this old, messed up, outdated tax code."

Democrats believe the legislation favors the rich and businesses. 
 
"Individuals lose the deductions. Corporations do not," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. "It is an assault on middle income families across our country who take pride in home ownership and again people who pay state and local taxes across the country."  
 
Tax reform is a top priority for the president who has had no major legislative achievement since taking office. 
 
Besides Brady, one top administration official says he's been speaking nearly every day with Vice President Mike Pence about tax reform. 
 
The goal is to help Trump get right to work once he's back in the nation's capital.