President Donald Trump is on solid legal ground with the tariffs he enacted around the world last week, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said Sunday.
"This is about a monumental change in the direction of our government," the Wyoming Republican told CBS News' "Face the Nation." "I'm talking about change in terms of the size as well as the priorities. This is a 180-degree change from the last four years with big government, big spending, big taxes."
Senate Republicans, he added, have a comprehensive economic plan for the United States, and the tariffs are a tool for restoring the U.S. economy.
"That's why we passed what we did just yesterday in the Senate, because we want people to have better jobs, more opportunities, and more money in their own pockets," said Barrasso. "So in terms of the tariffs, I believe they are a tool. I think we have to go after China. They have been abusing us for years, and I believe the president is on firm constitutional grounds."
Trump, meanwhile, has been talking about the tariffs for some time, so they did not come as a surprise, the senator said.
"He also talked about making sure we don't have this $4 trillion tax increase that the Democrats want to have," said Barrasso. "We have a lot of work to do to reverse the damage that has been done over the last four years with the Democrats that led to the highest inflation in 40 years. So the president wants to get a lot of things done, and I want to get a lot of things done in Congress as part of this comprehensive economic plan."
Meanwhile, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have partnered to try to bring control of tariffs back to the Senate. They are calling for lawmakers to get 48 hours' notice of the intent to issue tariffs and for the measures to expire after 60 days unless Congress extends them.
Barrasso pointed out that Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced a similar bill five years ago.
But over the past 90 years, he said, Congress has given presidents more authority to deal with national security by using tariffs with regard to unfair trade.
"I think President Trump is doing what he has every right to do," said the senator. "We will see which way the discussion grows."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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