'We Made a Mistake': Republican Congressman Wants Congress to Take Back Tariff Power From President

Source: Mediaite.com

Republican Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE) joined CNN on Thursday and proposed that Congress should reclaim its sole authority over U.S. tariff policy, which he argued Congress mistakenly ceded to the president. U.S. politics and the economy have been rocked in recent weeks by President Donald Trump’s tariff whiplash, announcing and then unannouncing tariffs on key allies like Canada, Mexico, and Europe.

“What could Republicans, congressman, the Republicans in Congress specifically be doing more to push the President to try to de-escalate his trade war? What leverage do you have?” asked anchor Wolf Blitzer.

“In Article 1 in the Constitution, really, tariffs should be a Congressional-initiated action. So this should come from Congress. However, I think we made a mistake. In the past, we passed legislation that gave the president some temporary tariff authorities. And I think that we should look back and maybe restore the power back to Congress,” Bacon replied, adding:

"And take away the authorizations that we’ve allowed the presidents, not just President Trump, but President Biden and President Obama before him. This power should reside in the House and the Senate. We have the power of the purse, and so I think we should restore these authorities back to the House."

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/we-made-a-mistake-republican-congressman-wants-house-to-take-back-tariff-power-from-president/