Trump’s tariff announcement — which came despite frantic pleas from Republicans — dealt a stinging blow to many free trade Republicans and even some of the president's own allies on Capitol Hill.
[...]
[T]he level of disappointment is deep, and Republicans had worked hard to get Trump to reverse course.
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Some members are now contemplating legislative steps to block the president’s move.
“I think there’s a good chance that we will nullify them, at least if I have my way. ... I generally support the president on just about everything but I think he’s been misled,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters. “I’m disappointed because we just passed a tax bill and this kind of flies in the face of that.”
GOP Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), a frequent Trump critic who is retiring after 2018, is planning to introduce legislation to nullify the tariffs, saying Congress “cannot be complicit as the administration courts economic disaster.”
Libertarian-leaning GOP Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) has introduced legislation to give Congress oversight over any trade decision, including new tariffs. After Trump’s decision, he said he will work “to make sure these tax hikes are never enforced.”
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Any legislation to fence in the White House would face an uphill battle because it has to be signed by Trump. That could require a bill to ultimately get two-thirds support in both chambers — a potentially herculean task for a GOP-controlled Congress against a Republican president.
It’s also unlikely that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be willing to expend much political capital going head-to-head with a GOP president in a midterm election year.
The Hill
The tortoise and the hair.
Wish I could claim that as my own. I can't remember where I saw it, but I laughed, and am happily stealing it.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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