Kentucky Republican Rep. Andy Barr says the general objectives of the Trump administration’s trade policies were “right on.” (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr and Speaker Paul D. Ryan navigated a sensitive trade issue on the campaign trail Tuesday as they both lamented and defended President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs during a joint appearance at Toyota Tsusho America in Georgetown, Kentucky.
“Obviously, this is a very trade sensitive industry,” Barr said to the auto manufacturer’s employees, before launching into a defense of Trump’s trade inclinations.
Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., agreed with Rep. Trey Gowdy that the FBI acted properly using an informant on President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign to track possible Russian interference in the election. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday signaled there’s no chance Congress will pass legislation to limit President Donald Trump’s authority to impose tariffs, despite Republican lawmakers disagreeing with recent actions the president has taken against U.S. allies.
“You’d have to pass a [bill] that he would want to sign into law and that would be what it would take,” the Wisconsin Republican told reporters. “And you can do the math on that.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and President Donald Trump pose for photographs at the White House in October. The United States, Canada and Mexico are currently engaged in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images file photo)
House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., has been traveling around the country with Democrats’ political messaging. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — While House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer and other lawmakers were outside of Washington the past two weeks, President Donald Trump and his administration prepared policy pushes for Congress’ return that will certainly spark Democratic backlash — and perhaps some from Republicans too.
Hoyer, in an interview here Thursday during a stop on his Make It In America listening tour, panned Trump’s plans to rescind funds from the recently passed omnibus, send the National Guard to defend the southern border and impose additional tariffs on China that would have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.
The flags of the United States and China on a table when the countries’ military leaders met in 2014. On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced tariffs on some Chinese goods. (U.S. Army Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
President Donald Trump intends to slap new tariffs and other penalties on Chinese goods in response to what U.S. officials contend is Beijing’s practice of stealing technology and companies’ information.
Senior White House officials described Trump as giving Chinese leaders months to alter its practices, only to conclude they have no intention of doing so. Officials said the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations “worked very hard” to improve trade relations with Beijing, but ultimately had only “failed dialogues” to show for those efforts.
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