“The president’s indicated he would veto it,” Thune said. “And I don’t see how they’d get it on the floor in the House.” (Al Drago/Bloomberg News)
Senate Republican leader John Thune predicted a bipartisan bill that would give lawmakers greater oversight of President Donald Trump’s tariffs would languish in Congress.
The legislation, co-sponsored by GOP Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, has picked up at least six other Republican backers amid growing GOP unease about the trade war’s economic toll. Markets have plummeted in the days following Trump’s tariff announcement.
“I don’t think that has a future,” Thune said when asked about Grassley’s bill. “The president’s indicated he would veto it. And I don’t see how they’d get it on the floor in the House.”
The bill would require Congress, which has largely ceded authority over tariffs to the executive branch, to review and approve most tariffs within 60 days.
Financial markets were whipsawed on April 7 by a deluge of headlines around Trump’s trade war that reinforced the clouds hanging over the outlook for investing and the economy.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index’s 7% intraday swing was the largest since 2020 when COVID shutdowns upended trading. The benchmark index closed down a little more than 0.2%, its best performance since Trump’s tariff announcement.
Thune acknowledged concerns about the markets and called Trump’s tariff announcement a “consequential” change in policy. But he signaled he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.
“I think we got to let it play out and see what ultimately happens, not only in the near term but the long term,” he told reporters.
Trump was resolute on his tariffs April 7, saying they are “very important” to his economic agenda. But, speaking at the White House, he opened the door to a “fair deal and good deals with every country.”
