GOP lawmakers from both chambers of Congress are not entirely aligned with President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and his administration’s budget blueprint. Senate and House Republicans, many of whom have long supported Trump, are now publicly questioning the reasoning and timing of his economic agenda. 

The Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday morning, and a private White House meetings later in the evening, all spell one unmistakable fact: there’s a strain between the Oval Office and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Yesterday, lawmakers grilled US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the administration’s tariff policy and lack of accountability on rising consumer prices, disrupted supply chains, and economic unrest.

GOP leaders worried about Trump tariffs

“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” asked Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina during the Finance Committee meeting, referring to a potential economic fallout of across-the-board tariffs.

Tillis mentioned he represents a state that has become a hub for foreign manufacturing investment, and was worried Trump’s tariff plan could jeopardize that growth, especially because industries in North Carolina rely on Chinese imports such as aluminum and steel. 

Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma talked about a case where a company in his state moved its supply chain from China to Vietnam to avoid heavy levies, only to be hit again with Vietnam also becoming a target of the additional tariffs. 

Lankford pressed Greer for a timeline for resolving the trade disputes, to which Greer responded: “We don’t have any particular timeline. The outcome is more important than setting something artificially for us.”

Other Republicans like Sen. Steve Daines of Montana cautioned the committee about inflationary risks and retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural exports. “Who pays these high tariffs?” Daines asked. “It will be the consumer.”

Still, several Republicans asserted they were in “full support” of Trump’s trade strategy end-game, which is to improve America’s manufacturing industry. Some, like South Carolina House Representative Ralph Norman, propounded that the short-term pain was necessary. “It’s pain, but it’s going to be. The president will make the right call,” Norman reckoned.

Since April 2, calls from Republicans to curb the president’s trade powers have grown louder by the day. Senator Chuck Grassley will be looking to convince GOP leaders to push forward his bipartisan bill, which will require congressional approval of new tariffs. 

As expected, the White House does not support such a measure, and Trump is expected to veto the legislation and any similar bill that comes next. 

Senate Majority Whip John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have both shown little interest in putting the measure to a vote. 

Budgetary proposals are also in question

Away from tariffs, President Trump and Speaker Johnson face yet another internal revolt, a Senate-approved budget plan. Dozens of House Republicans are still undecided or openly opposed to the proposal, which forms the basis for a sweeping domestic policy package.

A full-court press from Johnson and Trump, including a private White House meeting with GOP holdouts on Tuesday, did as much as nought for the POTUS. Congress is also preparing to recess for two weeks, so the administration is running out of time to secure support for the budget proposal.

According to Politico, Trump attempted to rally GOP lawmakers during a fundraising gala Tuesday night for the House Republican campaign arm. 

“In case there are a couple of Republicans out there [in opposition], you just got to get there,” the president said. “Close your eyes and get there. It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding.”

He also warned the lawmakers that “the alternative is hell.”

Conservative Texas Representative Chip Roy questioned the credibility of the budget’s promises. “Why am I voting on a budget based on promises that I don’t believe are going to materialize?” he asked.

Roy and other members of the hardline House Freedom Caucus have pushed for deeper federal spending cuts, up to $2 trillion, way beyond the $1 trillion endorsed by Trump in a post after the White House meeting. 

Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, the Freedom Caucus Chair, refused to attend the meeting, telling reporters he was unmoved by any pitch the president might make.

“There’s nothing that I can hear at the White House that I don’t understand about the situation,” Harris beckoned.

Still, some of the president’s allies, like Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, a former Freedom Caucus chair, reiterated the need for deeper spending cuts to match planned tax reductions. “It’s better to get it right than to get it fast,” Perry said after attending the White House meeting.

“Some of us really believe that the resolution is an important foundation on which to build a good bill,” remarked Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania. “And so we want to ensure that some of the principles that all of us agreed to are included.”

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