Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday the Senate would not take up legislation that would block President Trump’s planned tariffs on aluminum and steel because Trump would not sign it.
“The thought that the president would sign a bill that would undo actions he’s taken strikes me as remote, at best,” McConnell, R-Ky., said after a closed-door meeting with Republicans and Vice President Mike Pence. “I’d like to use floor time in the Senate for things that actually have a chance to become law. So I think it’s highly unlikely we’d be dealing with that in a legislative way.”
McConnell said senators harbor “a lot of concern” about the tariffs and the impact on the economy.
They are trying to influence Trump to narrow the tariff proposals even further than the current exclusion of Mexico and Canada.
“A number of members have been pretty outspoken about it and continue to talk to the administration in the hopes that at the end, this is somewhat a narrowed process rather than a broad application,” McConnell said.
