WASHINGTON (AP) — As news that President Donald Trump was backing down on most of his tariffs reached a luncheon of Senate Republicans Wednesday, the room reacted with relief, cheers and smiles.
It capped an extraordinary 24 hours in Washington in which GOP senators had increasingly confronted the Trump administration with worries about the economic impacts of the president's sweeping tariff strategy. In Senate hearings and interviews with reporters, GOP skepticism of Trump's policies had run unusually high, amounting to a rare break with a president they have otherwise championed.
Lawmakers had reason to worry: the stock market had been in a volatile tumble for days, and economists were warning that the plans could lead to a recession.
As Republicans heard from businesses back home worried about the president's plans and navigated the political ramifications of crossing Trump, they engaged in a delicate two-step of urging the president to engage in negotiations and warning of the economic fallout of long-term tariffs, then shifting to praise for the president’s economic vision.
That strategy seemed to pay off Wednesday afternoon when Sen. Roger Marshall broke the news to the roomful of fellow Republicans that Trump would back down on tariffs on most nations except China for 90 days.
“It really lightened up the lunch discussion,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, adding that there were cheers, clapping and “a lot of smiles.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said he was relieved by the announcement and “we all would rather see the market rise than fall.”
Just a day before, Republican senators had presented their concerns in stark terms to the Trump administration, even as they were careful to direct any criticism at the president's aides and advisors rather than the president himself.
"Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a Tuesday Senate hearing.
Tillis was pressing for an answer on which Trump aide to hold accountable if there is an economic downturn. His frustration was aimed at the across-the-board tariff strategy that would have potentially hamstrung U.S. manufacturers, who are dependent on materials like aluminum and steel from China. His home state of North Carolina, where he is up for reelection next year, has attracted thousands of foreign firms looking to invest in the state's manufacturing industries.
Still, Tillis cautioned that the announcement “doesn’t do much for certainty.” He said that the 90 day pause may calm the market, but he wouldn’t recommend to a CEO to deploy capital right now “when you don’t know what the long term cost is going to be and the tax environment.”
The unpredictability of Trump's strategy was on full display Wednesday, as even Greer seemed to have no clue that the announcement was coming as he testified in the House Ways and Means Committee. Greer, who had told senators the day before that negotiations would take some time, had to adapt his message in real time.
"I feel like you’re in a very bad position here, this whole idea that this president made this switcheroo on you while you were in the middle of testifying here today,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.
Democrats pointed to the dizzying changes as a sign of Trump's capriciousness.
“This is government by chaos,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference. “He keeps changing things from day to day. His advisors are fighting among themselves, calling each other names, and you cannot run a country with such chaos."
But for Republicans, it was just Trump being Trump.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who is close with the president, argued that the unpredictability was a way of gaining “leverage” in the negotiations.
“This is the way he’s always been,” Cramer added. “He even allows his own administration to have different views and have their own spats, and to do it publicly, because he follows all of that and he stays focused and watches the response from both his public and the world.”
Yet Trump's pause only came after considerable urging from within his own party.
GOP senators, including in a group interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, had voiced hopes Trump would act quickly in hopes of ending the economic tumult. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Trump is like the “pit bull who caught the car” as other countries offer trade deals with the U.S. He added: “I hope he takes the deal.”
Trump was also facing Republican lawmakers looking for ways to claw back their power over tariffs, which has been almost completely handed over to the president in recent decades through legislation.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a senior Republican, has introduced a bipartisan bill to give Congress the power to review and approve new tariffs, and Republican members in the House were also working to gain support for a similar bill.
Trump on Tuesday night had said anyone who backed the legislation was a “rebel Republican” who “wants to grandstand.”
“Let me tell you, you don’t negotiate like I negotiate. Congress takes over negotiating, sell America fast because you’re going to go busted,” the president added.
Republican leaders in Congress, as well as a sizable chunk of lawmakers, had emphasized that Trump needs time to implement his strategy. They've mostly rejected the idea of putting a check on Trump's tariff power.
“I think people, by and large, accept the fact that the president campaigned on this and he deserves the opportunity to see what he can get done,” Thune told The Associated Press.
But he added that the pause “shows too the president’s responding to the feedback that he’s given.”
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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed.
Stephen Groves, The Associated Press
