--- title: Reid and McConnell: No Tax Reform in 2014 description: Democratic and Republican Senate leadership alike said they aren't optimistic that tax reform will pass their side of Congress any time this year, just a day before a House GOP chair is expected to unveil his roadmap for reforming the tax code canonical: https://time.com/9720/reid-and-mcconnell-no-tax-reform-in-2014/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-25T21:54:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:29:16.804Z article:section: Politics og:title: Reid and McConnell: No Tax Reform in 2014 og:description: Democratic and Republican Senate leadership alike said they aren't optimistic that tax reform will pass their side of Congress any time this year, just a day before a House GOP chair is expected to unveil his roadmap for reforming the tax code og:url: https://time.com/9720/reid-and-mcconnell-no-tax-reform-in-2014/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt866917200c727023/69868309d0b6f218af302fc7/reid-mcconnell-tax-reform.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3100 og:image:height: 1744 og:image:alt: Senate Majority Leader Reid leads Senate Minority Leader McConnell and Minority Whip Cornyn to the front of the chamber before President Obama delivers his State of the Union speech in Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Reid and McConnell: No Tax Reform in 2014 twitter:description: Democratic and Republican Senate leadership alike said they aren't optimistic that tax reform will pass their side of Congress any time this year, just a day before a House GOP chair is expected to unveil his roadmap for reforming the tax code twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt866917200c727023/69868309d0b6f218af302fc7/reid-mcconnell-tax-reform.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Reid and McConnell: No Tax Reform in 2014 > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Feb 25, 2014 9:54 PM UTC  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid leads Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to the front of the chamber before President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 28, 2014. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid leads Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to the front of the chamber before President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 28, 2014. Larry Downing—Reuters by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Feb 25, 2014 9:54 PM UTC Senate Republican and Democratic leaders told reporters Tuesday that they see little hope for tax reform this year, the day before House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Dave Camp (R—Mich.) is due to present his proposal on the very same subject. “It would be extremely difficult, and with the obstruction that we get here from the Republicans on virtually everything, to do something that should have been done years ago,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “I think that \[Chairman\] Camp is right in coming forward with a piece of legislation,” he added, before noting that the senate would be unlikely to begin negotiations quickly as Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) had only just taken over from Sen. Max Baucus (R—Mont.) as Senate Finance Chairman. “And so we’re over here starting over again.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated that the chances of tax reform are all but nil. “I think we will not be able to finish the job, regretfully, in 2014,” McConnell [told reporters](http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/199209-mcconnell-no-path-for-tax-reform-this-year) on Tuesday. “Now, if we had a new Republican Senate next year, coupled with a Republican House, I think we could have at least a congressional agreement that this is about getting rates down and making America more competitive.” McConnell had already made [similar](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/mitch-mcconnell-tax-reform-probably-won-t-happen) [remarks](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/06/mitch-mcconnell-debt-deals%5Fn%5F2420632.html) several times over the past year. In mid-January, a House leadership aide told TIME that the chances were weren’t very good without “executive level leadership.” The mud-slinging obstructs an issue that has had bipartisan support in the past. But there is little urgency for action—according to a [Pew](http://www.people-press.org/interactives/top-priorities/) poll, the American people puts health care, Medicare, Social Security, terrorism, education, the budget and jobs, ahead of tax reform. 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