Donald Trump's economic policies are reportedly tearing apart a ruby red state.
GOP senators and representatives in the reliably red state of Utah are talking tough on Trump's policies in private, only to later bend to the president's will, sometimes the same day, according to the conservative Wall Street Journal.
In an article called How GOP Lawmakers Are Privately Distancing Themselves From Trump’s Tariffs, the outlet tells the story of GOP lawmakers willing to make assurances against tariffs but then can't back them up.
"In April, a group of Utah business leaders visited Washington to meet with lawmakers and petition for relief from tariffs that they said were raising their costs and making it difficult to plan investments," according to the report. "The messages they received from their elected officials in private were encouraging. Their follow-up actions in public, however, fell short."
The Journal goes on to describe a specific anecdote involving GOP senator, John Curtis.
"During an April 28 meeting at the Capitol Hill Club near Congress, the chief of staff for Sen. John Curtis (R., Utah) told the group of CEOs and other executives that the senator was sensitive to the costs of tariffs on businesses in the state, according to people familiar with the conversation, including attendees of the meeting. The chief of staff said the senator planned to support those businesses by voting for a bipartisan resolution that would have ended the emergency authority used for President Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, the people said," the report states. "The morning of the April 30 vote, Curtis himself told business leaders that he would consider supporting measures to curtail Trump’s tariffs if they had a chance of passing in Congress, according to people familiar with that conversation, including attendees. But that afternoon, Curtis ended up casting what proved to be a decisive vote against the measure, which failed in a 49-49 vote, after pressure from Senate GOP leadership and a visit from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who joined a Senate Republican lunch the day before the vote."
The Journal goes on to call the Curtis incident "a vivid example of a widespread dynamic among congressional Republicans: many have grappled with the Trump administration’s tariff policies—even while falling in line."
"It is a tough spot for these Republican lawmakers to be in. Criticism of the president’s policies could earn a public rebuke from the White House. But embracing the new duties could be politically risky: Voters disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy, inflation, and tariffs, according to recent polling by The Wall Street Journal," according to the report, which notes that the tariff issue is hurting Utah, "a largely rural state with a number of trade-sensitive industries, from agriculture and lumber to mining, energy and small businesses that use foreign materials."
The Journal cites further anger at other local GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Celeste Maloy.
"On the same April trip, Rep. Celeste Maloy (R., Utah) told business leaders that she prayed every day that the turmoil surrounding Trump’s tariffs—which at that point were roiling global markets and angering trading partners—would subside, according to people familiar with the conversation," the report states, while noting that Maloy hasn't publicly spoken out about the tariffs.