Tariffs are a ‘hot potato’ President Trump is holding, Congress wants them back

Legislation to require congressional approval for new tariffs is gaining support on Capitol Hill

despite the fact that the bill doesn't appear to have a path to becoming law. The Trade Review Act of 2025 was introduced a day after President Trump announced a minimum

10 percent tariff on all U.S. imports. It would require the president to inform Congress of new

tariffs within 48 hours, at which time the legislative branch could either approve or

reject them. All new tariffs would automatically terminate in 60 days if Congress does nothing

The bill was first introduced in the Senate and has 14 co-sponsors evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans

A companion piece of legislation was introduced in the House by Congressman Don Bacon

Then the president said he would veto the legislation, which means to become law, it needs a two-thirds majority in both chambers

Now, Senate Majority Leader John Thune says the bill does not have a future and House Speaker Mike Johnson won't bring it up for a vote

This comes as concerns about stock market volatility and price increases continue

Is it going to have to have an impact on your capital markets

Well, yes, duh. And it has, and it's not fun. It's very, very painful

Whether this will have a happy ending or a sad ending depends in large part what President Trump does next

And I say it again What I would do next now that he has these countries to the table I would negotiate with a goal towards zero tariffs

We'll see again as this moves from market disruption into the level of price disruption that will happen after tonight

I think people are going to say that this is a wacky way to run a national economy

The bill's sponsors contend Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress explicit authority over tariffs and commerce

In the 1930s, Congress gave presidents the authority to negotiate trade deals and impose tariffs

Now, Congress wants to take that power back. Trade is a rules-based system. You have to have predictability

That's why you negotiate agreements based on rules and you establish rules. Our biggest economic opportunities right now are outside the United States

So let's open up markets and let's have more exports. But, I mean, let's not pretend that this is anything other than the president exercising the statutory authority Congress has given him for decades

Because Congress didn't want to do tariffs. They didn't want to do trade. They wanted it was too hot

They wanted the president to have to hold the hot potato. So now you've got a president who's happy to do that

The White House announced more than 50 nations reached out to make a deal on tariff rates

Many of those same nations say if the negotiations fall through, they'll impose retaliatory tariffs

I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News. For more reporting, download the Straight Arrow News app