Steve Forbes, chairman and editor in chief of Forbes Media, said Republicans need to pass a retroactive tax cut to help the party maintain control of Congress in next year’s elections.

“If they don't get a big tax cult kicking in this year, they're going to take it on the chin electorally next year,” he said on CNBC. “People have to see that this economy really has broken out of its rut. So, a big tax cut is essential.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this week said economic growth of 3 percent is achievable in the next two years as the Trump administration seeks tax cuts to create more incentives to work and invest. The U.S. economy only advanced 0.7 percent a year during the first three months of this year, compared with a long-term average of 3.2 percent since World War II.

The Federal Reserve today said the first quarter weakness likely was “transitory.” The central bank left interest rates unchanged.  

Forbes said that stronger growth is critical for the U.S. to tackle spending deficits.

“You're not going to deal with the deficit effectively if you don't have a vibrant economy. We should have learned that from the '80s and '90s,” he said. “In terms of deficits, you can do reforms in the future, but John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan never fell in that trap of tying expenditure reductions to a tax cut. Otherwise, you’ll never get them.”

• Michael Lewitt: Crushing Debt Will Stifle Growth Despite Tax Cuts
• Steve Forbes: Christie Must Hit 'Reset Button' on Opioid Strategy