President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda is facing fierce resistance from Democrats and lawfare judges, and now uniparty Republicans have emerged to join them in stalling the vital reforms that he was elected to implement.
The president’s “Liberation Day” announcement of sweeping tariffs spurred the usual suspects in the Senate to move against him, a bloc of seven GOP senators are joining with their Democrat friends to back a bill effectively subverting Trump’s presidential powers by forcing him to get congressional approval to impose any new tariffs, siding with the status quo over the American people.
Led by former Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the renegade group includes nonagenarian Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) along with the anti-Trump duo Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
Rounding out the gang seeking to sabotage their own party’s president by backing the Trade Review Act of 2025 are Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Todd Young (R-IN). The bill is co-sponsored by Grassley and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who announced it last week in response to Trump’s tariffs.
I just introduced the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025, and spoke about it on the Senate Floor. Watch below. pic.twitter.com/P1792lK680
— Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) April 3, 2025
The bill would require a president to provide Congress with notification of any unilateral new and increased tariffs within two days and explain the reasons as well as mandating an assessment of the potential impact of tariffs on American consumers and businesses. The Trade Review Act of 2025 would also sunset the new tariffs after 60 days unless they are approved by Congress by a joint resolution and gives lawmakers the power to cancel them entirely before 60 days have passed with a joint resolution of disapproval.
“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch. Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Sen. Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’s constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy,” Grassley said in a statement.
The bill will be dead on arrival with the White House stating that Trump will veto it if it makes it to his desk.
“If passed, this bill would dangerously hamper the President’s authority and duty to determine our foreign policy and protect our national security,” the White House said in a policy statement sent to congressional offices, Axios reported.
“If S. 1272 were presented to the President, he would veto the bill,” the statement read.
Trump’s agenda is also being undermined by GOP lawmakers in the lower chamber.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) is looking to schedule a Wednesday vote on the Senate budget plan that, if approved, will trigger the reconciliation process through which Trump’s agenda will be passed, with tax cuts, funding for border control, and domestic energy policy among other things at stake.
But Johnson is facing opposition by conservative lawmakers whose resistance threatens to be an embarrassment to the top House Republican and potentially derail Trump’s efforts to undo the damage inflicted by the Biden administration.
“If the Senate’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ budget is put on the House floor, I will vote no,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) vowed in a post to X.
If the Senate’s “Jekyll and Hyde” budget is put on the House floor, I will vote no.
In the classic ways of Washington, the Senate’s budget presents a fantastic top-line message – that we should return spending back to the pre-COVID trajectory (modified for higher interest,…
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) April 5, 2025
Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) is pushing for the House to skip the vote entirely and move directly to crafting the package’s details in what The Hill describes as “an unconventional move that would be a break from protocol.”
When asked about the chances of the bill passing, the Maryland Republican said, “It doesn’t need to. The committees can do their work without the budget resolution.”
“There is no better time than now to get this Deal DONE! The House, the Senate, and our Great Administration, are going to work tirelessly on creating “THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” an appropriate name if Congress so likes. Everyone is going to be happy with the result. Passage will make, even the subject of World Trade, far easier and better for the U.S.A. THE HOUSE MUST PASS THIS BUDGET RESOLUTION, AND QUICKLY — MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in a Monday post to Truth Social.
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