Cornyn dismisses chance that Congress will curtail Trump tariffs

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, downplayed the chances on Monday that Congress would pass legislation pushing back against President Trump’s tariffs, despite growing frustration among Republicans. 

“I think that’s primarily an executive branch function, and I don’t really see Congress passing and getting a presidential signature on something constraining his authority,” Cornyn told reporters in response to questions about Trump’s decision to remove exemptions on steep tariffs for steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

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Cornyn said that lawmakers would continue trying to influence the administration’s decisionmaking process in conversations with Trump and White House officials.

“We have been talking for a long time and that’s been helpful in terms of providing guidance,” he said. 

The imposition of the tariffs has sparked a backlash from U.S. trading partners and disquieted Republican lawmakers who are taking a new look at legislation in the wake of the decision. 

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced he would support legislation from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would require Congress to sign off on the imposition of tariffs.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said separately on Monday that he and other senators are working “to develop legislation that would address the administration’s recent actions to intervene in markets by abusing the president’s national security authorities.”

But legislation curbing Trump’s trade authority likely faces an uphill battle in Congress. Any bill would likely need to win over enough support to override a veto, meaning the backing of two-thirds of both chambers.