COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has promoted Republican tax reform legislation during a visit to Ohio, saying the plan is “all about creating economic growth.”

Speaking Tuesday at an Ohio Council of Retail Merchants luncheon in Columbus, Mnuchin said the plan aims to push money into the economy rather than sending it “back to Washington.”

The House and Senate bills have been promoted as needed relief for the middle class. They would deeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes.

The Ohio Democratic chairman criticizes the GOP plan as “one more gigantic experiment in trickle-down economics” that hasn’t worked for Ohio.     About two dozen protesters picketed outside the luncheon.