Vulnerable House Republicans are on defense amid the fallout from President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, which have stoked uncertainty about the economy.
Markets took a nosedive Thursday following Trump’s announcement of a general 10 percent tariff on goods imported to the U.S., along with other targeted tariffs on various U.S. trading partners. The financial environment was not much better Friday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,200 points and the S&P 500 lost 10 percent over the course of two days.
On Sunday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett defended Trump’s sweeping global tariffs that have stoked concerns about the United States economy.
During a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Hassett said he doesn’t believe there will be a “big effect on the consumer in the U.S.,” noting that more than 50 countries are also “coming to the table” to negotiate.
A part of his expansive package of new tariffs, Trump levied taxes on a number of uninhabited or sparsely populated islands that have little-to-no exports.
Among those affected are the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, situated in the southern Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. The volcanically active subantarctic islands were slapped with a 10 percent tariff.
On Sunday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said those are intended to guard against loopholes.
“Look, the idea is that there are no countries left off,” he said.
“What happens is, if you leave anything off the list, the countries that try to basically arbitrage America go through those countries to us,” he continued.
He pointed to China’s response to Trump’s tariffs in 2018 as an example, saying, “They just built through other countries, through America.”
Republican Senators made strides towards advancing a budget reconciliation package this week that would include expanding the leader’s 2017 tax cuts and, bolstering border security and increased defense spending.
Democrats presented several objections through amendments, which were all struck down, leaving concerns about potential cuts to social services amid the financial reordering. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) will likely share the party’s perspective on the events that played out on the floor during the wee hours of Saturday morning during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) and Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) are set to appear on NewsNation “The Hill Sunday,” where they will likely talk about these topics and more.
Read the full Sunday shows lineup here and follow along below for the latest updates.
