Senate Republicans have revived calls to limit President Donald Trump’s tariff authority as a way rein him in amid an uproar over his praise of Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the same time as other lawmakers are saying they’d back new sanctions on Russia.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker says pushing back on Trump’s tariffs would be a “perfect first step” for Congress, Bloomberg reports.
“He’s taxing Americans, he’s pushing our allies away,” Corker told reporters today. “When he does that he’s strengthening Putin. So to me the very first step that benefits Americans would be for us to go ahead and strongly pass this tariff legislation that we have and take back those authorities.”
Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch separately went to the Senate floor to warn he would back tariff legislation if Trump doesn’t back off his threats to massively expand his trade war, saying it threatens to undermine an otherwise “roaring” economy.
“If the administration continues forward with its misguided and reckless reliance on tariffs, I will work to advance trade legislation to curtail presidential trade authority,” Hatch said.
Trump is facing broad, bipartisan criticism following his summit and news conference with Putin Monday in Helsinki, where the president praised Putin and questioned the U.S. intelligence community’s consensus that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
But it’s not yet clear whether Republican leaders are prepared to go beyond another round of statements of disapproval and non-binding measures. He may have emboldened some Republicans who’ve shied away from a direct confrontation with Trump on issues such as trade because of his tight grip on Republican voters.
At a press conference this morning Speaker Paul Ryan noted Congress had already passed sanctions against Russia last year but opened the door to going further.
“If the Foreign Affairs Committee, or the Financial Services Committee, and the Senate Banking Committee, think there are other sanctions that we have not yet placed upon Russia, I’m more than happy to consider those,” he said.
