The tariffs will be bad for USA business, and U.S. jobs, they say, echoing recent analysis by economists. If it's not, they might as well force a vote with Democrats through the discharge petition, score the political points associated with posturing on the issue, and wait for the dynamics of Congress to change ― perhaps for Democrats to take the majority ― before lawmakers actually find a solution. Cory Gardner of Colorado, echoing a concern GOP leaders have voiced for days.
Yet for Republicans, who worked furiously behind the scenes in March to defang the administration's steel and aluminum tariff proposal, it's a fight that has long existed even if the willingness for it to come the forefront was tempered by outside factors.
Corker unveiled legislation Wednesday afternoon that would require lawmakers to approve of trade actions by the President that are done on the grounds of national security.
Corker, who has had other brushes with Trump in the past, said last week that imposing tariffs against trading partners "is the wrong approach and represents an abuse of authority intended only for national security purposes'".
"I've always expressed my disagreement when it occurred, this is one we can deal with legislatively", Corker told reporters on Tuesday.
Sen. Bob Corker is facing the ire of the White House after forging ahead with his plan to curtail the President's power on trade.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters Tuesday that he did not anticipate bringing up legislation like Corker's as a standalone measure, but that it was certainly possible someone might try to attach it to a moving legislative vehicle like the fiscal 2019 defense authorization.
When asked about Trump's continued assertions about Federal Bureau of Investigation misconduct, Ryan on Tuesday said he agreed with Gowdy's assessment. It could be subject to a parliamentary challenge over whether it's germane to the annual bill authorizing defense programs.
"On policy, there's a lot of support", he said.
"If the Democrats can't win both in NY and, say, the Great Plains, we'll never be the majority", he said. "NDAA is certainly one of them but it is open to amendment and we'll see what happens as it moves across the floor".
The proposal will be offered as an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which is must-pass legislation and makes the prospect of a presidential veto that much more hard on the White House's end.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats clutter their own message to voters with a singular focus on President Donald Trump.
Senate Republicans's biggest priority in the midterms is trying to keep control of the chamber. The truth is a bit more complicated, but Democrats have used tactics to stall some of Trump's selections.
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a senior GOP appropriator and chairman of the Energy-Water spending subcommittee, said he did not know exactly how many weeks of August senators would end up being at the Capitol, but he suggested it should be dictated by the workload.
The idea being pursued by Corker, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat in a tough re-election fight in 2018, said she was "very interested" in the proposal.
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