Good Thursday morning, I'm Jake Sherman, and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing, sponsored by Chevron.

And I'm Anna Palmer. President Trump says the JFK files, long kept private, will be concealed today.

The big story of the day is tax reform. It has been humming along behind closed doors and it's about to go public.

Here are four playbook truths about tax reform. First, this plan will live and die one million times.

Expect a lot of ups and downs here, but until Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell pull the plug,

it still has life. Two, ignore the time frame. There really is no deadline to get tax reform done.

And for the record, let us just put it out there, it probably won't be done by the end of the year.

Number three, this is a 60-40 proposition at best. It's not a done deal. Yes, Republicans feel

good about where things are at, but that's mostly out of fear of losing their majorities.

Many things could stop this dead in its tracks. And number four, this won't be hugely bipartisan.

Republicans might pick up a Democrat or two in the Senate, but don't expect a tidal wave of Democrats to support this.

And here's where things stand as of this morning.

House Republicans are slated to go to the floor to try and pass the Senate's budget, despite unease from some conservatives.

Republican leaders also canceled a 9 p.m. meeting last night to discuss the

biggest issue right now, the state and local tax issue. A pair of Trump administration stories this

morning, Nancy Cook has a look at how Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin has struggled to earn trust

on Capitol Hill. He's got no Washington experience. Holly Tussie has a piece on how Rex Tillerson

has engaged in a power play at state as the department's policy planning staff is now being

relied on for day-to-day decision-making. Sungman Kim reports that retiring Senator Jeff Flake

said he won't be vindictive when it comes to Trump's agenda. Well, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker,

also retiring, is vowing to get answers on Trump's delay in using his new power to punish Russia after Congress overwhelmingly passed a new sanctions package earlier this year.

And the big media story of the morning comes from CNN's Oliver Darcy.

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