Farm state House Republicans facing the wrath of constituents over President Donald Trump's economic policies are hopping mad that they are taking the blame — prompting one to point the finger at his GOP counterparts in the Senate.
That's according to a new analysis from MS NOW's Lillie Boudreaux, who argued Republicans are stuck in a bind as "tariffs, beef imports and high fuel and fertilizer prices are hitting agricultural communities especially hard."
That tension boiled over last week when U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer sat down "behind closed doors" with House Republicans, according to the analysis.
Those House Republicans wanted to know what fallout their own states might see from the Canada standoff, Russia sanctions and other trade fights, Boudreaux reported.
Rep. Zach Nunn, an Iowa Republican in a swing district, used the time to press Greer on the increase in beef imports — and planned to bring the issue up again hours later at a White House dinner for Republicans running in tight races.
"I applaud him for coming up with ideas," Nunn said of Trump. "But I also got to say: I got to take care of folks back home." He told MS NOW, "If you really want to have Made in America, I think you start with your farmers and ranchers, and they shouldn't have to suffer for a policy decision or even a short-term law."
Pressed on whether his beef complaints were just political theater, Nunn didn't hold back: "Ask a cattleman who's taken a heifer to market, and you'll find out the real answer on that."
Asked what Congress owes struggling farmers, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), pointed the finger across the Capitol.
"You're on the wrong side of this building," he told MS NOW. "You've got to walk over there to the Senate and ask them to show up for work and to get the farm bill done that we sent over to them about five months ago."