Republican lawmakers breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after President Donald Trump backed off from his trade war, agreeing to a 90-day pause.
Politico reported that lawmakers have been concerned about Trump's tariffs for a week, but few have been willing to respond. Instead, they simply held out hope that he'd back down.
“I think jubilation is too strong a word, but ... it was positive,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “I think everybody can sort of identify with that going up.”
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They weren't happy about the way they learned of the pause, however.
Trump posted the news on Truth Social while two top trade officials were on Capitol Hill. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was testifying to the House after speaking to the Senate on Tuesday. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender was speaking to another group of GOP lawmakers at the Republican Study Committee lunch.
Lawmakers asked for information, but Faulkender couldn't answer their questions. Greer had the same problem.
“I understand it’s 90 days, I haven’t spoken to the president since I’ve been in this hearing,” Greer testified when asked about it.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told Politico he has tried to get the administration to tell him something about the tariff plan and its goals. He's gotten nothing.
Tillis called Trump's move “smart because it eliminates some of the downside speculation right now.” However, “it doesn’t eliminate any of the uncertainty unless you start seeing a deal float pretty quickly over the next couple of days with some of the major trading partners.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wasn't happy, but noted, “10 percent tariffs are bad, but they’re better than 60 percent.”
“I think they are checking it out and seeing what works and if they are kind of getting the response that they hope to get. I think it’s a work in progress, but it sounds like they are getting some good results," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Politico.
“Behold the ‘Art of the Deal,’” Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X.
Privately, however, another conservative Republican called it "a s---show," particularly because it came “after [Greer] just testified how we need the tariffs?”
