Posted on 04/05/2025 8:52:31 AM PDT by re_tail20
President Trump’s tariff spree is, we gather, being met with a wave of regrets on Capitol Hill. The poor dears. The Framers, in their wisdom, delegated solely to Congress the authority to lay and collect tariffs.* Yet after the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930, the solons let this power slip out of their hands. Congress passed a series of laws giving the president the ability to impose tariffs, largely at his discretion. Now some legislators want to reclaim their power.
A bill pushed by Senator Grassley, Politico reports, would require the president “to notify Congress within 48 hours” of setting a tariff. Congress, then, would have a leisurely 60 days to approve the new tariff. Absent the congressional okay, the tariff would not go into effect. “The bill also would allow Congress to end any tariff at any time,” Politico adds. The proposal “sends a strong signal about the GOP’s growing unease with Trump’s actions,” Politico reports.
“Congress has a constitutional role through the Commerce Clause on trade matters, and we should re-assume that role,” avers Senator Grassley. He represents Iowa, whose agricultural exports could be hard-hit by retaliatory tariffs. Yet the wellspring of congressional tariff power is found in the Taxing Clause, as Senator Paul marked on Tuesday. He was among four Republicans to join Democrats to pass a rebuke of Mr. Trump’s power to impose tariffs on Canada.
“Is this really just symbolic?” Fox News’s Bret Baier asked of the Senate bill. “Only if you think the Constitution is symbolic and doesn’t mean anything,” the Bluegrass sage replied. “The Constitution says taxes originate in the House and come to the Senate. Taxes are the purview of Congress, not of one person.” So “symbolic or not, I think it’s an incredibly important argument,” Dr. Paul reckons.
There appears to...
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Senators want to keep their payoffs coming...
I wish that old fart would retire or die quickly.
Sadly, I see this playing out with the GOPe undermining Trump’s negotiation positions in the short-term and stopping his agenda in the long-term.
BTTT
It’s smart to take the long view. And that’s exactly what Trump is doing with regards to tariffs (and so many other things).
The best you can say about Trump’s opponents is that they only care about today. Let tomorrow take care of itself.
That kind of thinking is unwise to the point of being reckless.
Want a new factory in your district or state?
Support Trump!
Congress might want to notice this:
“An exclusive DailyMail.com/J.L. Partners survey of over 1,000 registered voters conducted from March 31 to April 3 found that the Republican remains largely popular in the U.S.
The poll found that Trump’s approval rating rose to 53 percent, a 4-point increase over last week when it was 49 percent.”
Soft spined faggots
Subject to veto if passed?
If I was Grassley I’d be worried about the next hour. Let alone about the next day.
I’m sure Trump won’t veto it or anything. 🙄
Senatorial clamduffing.
Oh the drama !
We want the Powah !
Yes. This is posturing. They want to go on record as opposing if it doesn’t work. Cowards.
Grassley and Paul have assured that there will be no new factories in their states.
Congress should never have given up those powers in the first place. Maybe give the President the power to impose them for a limited period of time before Congress has to act. I don’t even think a complete delegation of that power is Constitutional for the same reason creating the entire administrative deep state should be unconstitutional.
Too late. Hell’s coming brother.
Yup. When it looks like Trump’s tariffs are going to ruin their chances of getting kickbacks from foreign companies, they wet in their Depends. America isn’t “First” anymore. Haul assley Grassley.
I’d like to hear his solution to restoring America’s industrial base of hes against tariffs
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.