Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — On the day House Democrats marked as a deadline for the IRS to respond to their request for President Donald Trump’s tax returns, the president on Wednesday doubled down on his position that he won’t be making them public — at least for now.

In doing so, the president reiterated his oft-cited rationale for withholding his tax information: claiming they were under audit — although that has never been confirmed.

“I would love to give them, but I’m not going to do it while I’m under audit. It’s very simple,” Trump told reporters gathered at the White House South Lawn as he left for a trip to Texas.

But less than 24 hours earlier, the president’s own IRS commissioner, Charles Rettig, told lawmakers there are no rules prohibiting a taxpayer under audit from releasing their tax information, when asked at a congressional hearing.

“I think I’ve answered that question,” Rettig told the House Appropriations Committee during a budget hearing on Wednesday. “No,” he said.

Rettig faces a Wednesday deadline to respond to a letter from the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., who last week formally requested Trump’s business and personal tax information dating back to 2013.

In a hearing Wednesday morning before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Rettig declined to say whether he would comply with Democrats’ request.

“We received the letter, we’re working on the letter with counsel, and we anticipate responding,” Rettig told the panel.

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