Congressional Cowards is a weekly sequence highlighting the worst Donald Trump defenders on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize him—regardless of how disgraceful or lawless his actions.
Almost all the pieces is about to get dearer, retirement financial savings are being washed away, and economists say a recession is perilously shut—and it’s all because of President Donald Trump’s ill-conceived “Liberation Day” tariffs.
However do not count on congressional Republicans to avoid wasting you.
Republicans are, for essentially the most half, cheering the insane tariffs that Trump positioned on almost each single nation on the planet (aside from Russia, in fact).
“President Trump is bringing back Made in America,” Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia wrote on X.
And Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas made his stance clear—standing firmly behind Trump’s new coverage.
“I’m behind the president 100%. There will be disruption and pain on the front end, we saw that in the first term, but he was successful then, he will be successful now, and Americans will win,” he stated in an interview with CNBC.
“Look, you have to trust the president’s instincts on the economy,” Home Speaker Mike Johnson informed reporters on Tuesday.
Fellow Republican, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, echoed this sentiment.
“I’m, at this point, giving the president the benefit of the doubt on this,” he informed the information outlet NOTUS.
And GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa confidently informed NOTUS that “President Trump has a plan. We’ll go with that.”
Different Republicans are plainly admitting that the tariffs are going to trigger Individuals ache, but they’ll’t articulate what that ache is in service of.
“There’s absolutely going to be short-term pain. I mean, if you’re going to remodel your house to make it better in the end, it’s gonna be really annoying in the short-term,” Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana stated on CNN.
And GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma stated nearly the very same factor.
“I feel like in some ways in the economy this is kinda like a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel. There’s a bit of a mess at the beginning but everybody has a long-time look of where we’re headed. It’s going to be noisy for a little while, but we all know where we’re headed,” he stated on CNN.
To provide credit score the place credit score is due, there are some Republicans who’re taking a stand towards Trump’s tariffs.
Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democrats in voting to rescind Trump’s tariffs on Canada.
“Today I voted to terminate the emergency declaration put in place to justify higher tariffs on Canadian imports. While not all Canadian trade practices are fair, I’m keenly aware of the negative impacts in store for Alaskan families and businesses should tariffs drive up the costs of essential goods,” Murkowski wrote on X.
And Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa launched a invoice with Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington to rein in Trump’s tariff powers by requiring a president’s tariff coverage to get approval from Congress.
“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch. Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Senator Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’ constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy,” they stated in a information launch.
Nevertheless it’s unlikely that the invoice will move within the Senate, not to mention within the Home. And even when it did, Trump would absolutely veto it.
Except Trump admits that his tariffs are harmful to Individuals and scraps his chaotic commerce coverage, it appears to be like like his tariffs are right here to remain.
