The president has not exactly marked his time in office by making popular decisions. Instead, he’s gone from plans to ban travelers to the U.S. from Muslim majority countries to plans to repeal the Obama era-defining Affordable Care Act.
Along the way, he’s peppered his time in office with belligerence, hurling cries of fake news left and right and opening the door to sexism and racism through such means as his initial refusal to single out white nationalists for condemnation following days of violence in Virginia.
Through it all, Congressional Republicans have by and large stuck by the president — until now.
He recently announced plans to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum in response to unfairness he claims to have infected U.S. trade relationships with other countries.
These tariffs have now proven to be the sticking point that has given Congressional Republicans cause to break with the president in large number.
A total of 107 House Republicans got behind a letter sent to the president on Wednesday that insists that the broad tariffs he has proposed are a bad idea. As they explain, although they sound good in his ultra-nationalist mindset, they stand to cut down on the prosperity of American businesses because of making it harder for certain foreign products to make it into the U.S.
It’s the same situation that unfolded when the president decided to impose tariffs on imported solar panels; the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum are simply more high profile.
In the letter sent to the president on Wednesday, House Republicans, led by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, called on the president to dial back the intensity of his proposals, imposing tariffs that are targeted at specific areas of concern in American relationships with other countries and aren’t as broad as proposed.
The letter the Republican lawmakers sent to the president reads, in part:
‘We support your resolve to address distortions caused by China’s unfair practices, and we are committed to acting with you and our trading partners on meaningful and effective action. But we urge you to reconsider the idea of broad tariffs to avoid unintended negative consequences to the U.S. economy and its workers. We are eager to work with you in pursuing a workable, targeted approach that achieves our shared goal.’
There are actually indications that Congressional Republicans could get their wish, although the president has yet to finalize the tariffs.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that there could be “potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada based on national security and possibly other countries as well.”
Even still, in the face of the controversial tariffs, the president has already lost his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, whose departure, even though it’s claimed to be independent of the tariffs, is certainly curiously timed to say the least.
Trump’s personal response to the concerns over the potential effects of the tariffs has been to insist that “trade wars aren’t so bad.”
He has also taken to Twitter to cast the controversy in the context of his longstanding campaign ideas, writing that we “must win again!”
Featured Image via Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images
