KDSN RADIO News
With veto looming, Grassley vows to keep pushing to limit president’s tariff power
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll continue drumming up support for his bill that would limit a president’s power to impose tariffs, even after President Trump vowed he’d veto the measure if it reaches his desk.
Grassley says he’s long pushed for changes in two laws dating back to the 1960s and ’70s in which Congress delegated to the president most of its power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce.
“It’s one of 18 powers specifically listed for Congress to do,” Grassley says. “Congress gave up this authority. I think Congress ought to try to recapture its constitutional authority, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Grassley says his bill is bipartisan, and he notes six fellow Republican senators have signed on to support it, but he didn’t comment on the bill’s chances to pass. Just last week, the president enacted another round of steep tariffs, impacting trade with dozens of nations.
“This bill obviously doesn’t affect what Trump did because it’s not retroactive,” Grassley says, “but Trump did give me the opportunity when he raised the issue of tariffs to get back on my bandwagon.”
The bill would require Congress to approve the president’s tariffs on trading partners before they could take effect. Calling himself a “free and fair trader,” Grassley says trade benefits the family farmer, while tariffs usually target agriculture. He says the timing of the bill was intentional.
“I’m just taking advantage of an opportunity when people are talking about tariffs because people wouldn’t pay any attention to my efforts if tariffs wasn’t already highlighted,” Grassley says. “I see it as a conversation worth having.”
Even though a veto looms, Grassley says he’ll continue shepherding this legislation, “regardless of the president’s comments, because the Constitution’s on my side.”
