With little else to offer voters who have grown concerned about the financial impact Donald Trump's tariffs are having on their pocketbooks, the president has fallen back once again by dangling the prospect of a rebate in the form of a tax credit form of a tax credit.
However, as MSNBC's Ryan Teague Beckwith bluntly put it: "This is not going to happen."
The problem with the president's proposal is that the money won't be there, and even hardcore Trump supporters in the Senate have balked.
As Beckwith wrote, the proposal was first floated in July by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who suggested a $600 credit on Americans' 2024 tax returns that never moved past the suggestion stage.
According to the report, the money coming in, which Trump wants to use to bring down the national debt, would be swallowed up entirely by rebates.
Add to that, Republicans in the Senate were quick to pour cold water on the prospect of doling out tariff money.
"Republican senators shot the idea down immediately," the report notes. "Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma called it 'a bad idea,' Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said the country 'can’t afford it,' and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio called it 'insane.' Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said the money should be used to pay down the debt, instead, since Americans 'don't feel like they're being hurt by tariffs.'"
As for Hawley, he added, "And while Trump said he liked the idea, he also called Hawley a 'second-tier senator' around the same time, so it's doubtful that the two are going to work together anytime soon."
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