'tariffs Are Such An Important Factor': Some Republicans Are Increasingly Anxious Over Trump's Signature Policy

The White House and its GOP allies on Thursday dismissed the six defections over President Donald Trump’s Canada tariffs as a political stunt, insisting the rebellion has peaked.

But privately some Republicans remain anxious about a tariff policy that has injected uncertainty into a shaky economy. It’s a far cry, they say, from the booming one President Donald Trump promised, one that was supposed to be supercharged by tax cuts and deregulations that Republicans would be eager to run on. They fear that the administration has not done enough to sell the president’s top economic priority to the American people as an unalloyed good.

And while the White House points to a robust GDP, booming stock market and relatively low unemployment, the tariffs are applying direct pain on select constituencies such as farmers or small business owners whose fortunes can make the difference in a close election.

"Tariffs are such an important factor in our lives in the country, what's happening in the economy,” said one senior Republican lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak candidly. And, he added, lawmakers are “uneasy” about an administration that is so certain Trump is right.

The House on Wednesday voted to block the president’s 25 percent tariffs on Canada, with six Republicans crossing party lines to approve the resolution, a pointed and unusual rebuke of the president. Democrats hope to push Republicans to take a series of votes on tariffs in the coming weeks, forcing the GOP to again and again choose to side with a politically unpopular policy or risk crossing a notoriously vindictive president on one of his signature issues.

So far, Republicans seem more worried about the latter.

“He threatened them,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, when asked why so few GOP lawmakers defected on Wednesday night. “That’s it. That’s always it.”

Still, Republicans have been forced to acknowledge the tariff impact in their districts and states, even as they project optimism.

Senators like Missouri’s Josh Hawley, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, for example, have complained about the downstream effects on farmers, a linchpin of the Republican base, who have been rocked by the trade war, losing export markets as they’re forced to pay higher prices for things like machinery. Small businesses have struggled amid frequently changing tariff rates, and have often had to swallow the cost of the duties. And consumers, who have consistently told pollsters that affordability is a top concern, are seeing the tariff costs trickle down into products like clothing, furniture and toys.

"People think tariffs are costing them,” said Karl Rove, a veteran Republican strategist. “I know the economists have an argument about that, and I know that it's not a one-to-one ratio, but what people believe is that tariffs are keeping up the cost of some of the goods."

The White House has been quick to tout signs of a resilient economy, thumbing its nose at economists who projected that tariffs would significantly accelerate inflation. Instead, the spike was not as large as feared. While inflation had been rising since last summer, in part due to higher costs from tariffs, it has ticked down in the past few months.

“A lot of these votes are going to be fun symbolism for Democrats and fun conversation pieces in the Beltway press, but ultimately they have zero policy impact,” said one White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the administration’s thinking. “We just encourage folks to stick with the president and stick with the plan, and look at all the deals that have been done and all the deals going forward.”

Among the deals White House aides point to: an agreement with China to crack down on the flow of fentanyl precursors into the U.S.; so-called “most favored nation” drug pricing deals and cooperation from Mexico and Canada on border security. Plus, they argue that tariffs are helping to drive “trillions” in investments into manufacturing into the U.S.

"As more Americans start to see exports surge, prescription drug costs come down, and investments pour into their communities, Democrats’ attacks against the President’s tariffs are going to fall even flatter," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.

Kevin Hassett, Trump’s top economic adviser, also celebrated a strong jobs report Wednesday, insisting that it proved that “people are feeling the positive effects of Trump."

“The jobs report is amazing,” Trump told reporters in the Roosevelt Room on Thursday. “The financial numbers are beyond belief. Again, they thought it could be done in four years, and I did it in one year."

Many Republicans have dismissed the tariff votes as a political attack — and argue that voters will feel better about the economy once the One Big Beautiful Bill Act increases tax refunds this spring, and as businesses can start taking advantage of efforts to pare back regulations.

But some are questioning how compelling Trump’s argument on tariffs can be if he needs to berate House members to make sure they remain on board. In a post just as the vote closed Wednesday night, Trump threatened to primary anyone who voted against his Canada tariffs.

“He is angry and unhappy” about the defections, said one person close to the White House, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the president’s reaction to the vote. “But other [Republican] politicians are going to act in their self interest.”

More Republicans are now pushing back, if only slightly. At a hearing Thursday on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada-Agreement, a trade pact signed in his first term, GOPsenators implicitly contradicted the president, who has said it’s “irrelevant” if the tariff-cutting deal is renewed this year.

“In my humble opinion, the USMCA trade agreement has been the most important, the most successful trade agreement of my lifetime,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said at the Senate Finance Committee hearing.

Not a single senator — Republican or Democrat — advocated Trump pull the U.S. from the pact, something he hasn’t ruled out as his administration conducts a six-year review.

Democrats are gleefully taking advantage of the intraparty division over one of the president’s favorite economic tools. After outperforming in off-year and special elections, party leaders are hoping to go for the jugular, forcing vulnerable Republicans to vote repeatedly on the record on a clean-cut, self-inflicted affordability issue.

“Republicans would rather fall in line behind Trump than stand up for their communities and face rising costs, and now they're going to be accountable for their votes,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), the head of the House Democrats’ campaign arm. The House could vote on resolutions disapproving of Trump’s tariffs on Brazil and Mexico, as well as the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs the president first announced at an April 2 “Liberation Day” event, later this month.

So far, Senate Democrats have sought to only bring resolutions on the more controversial of Trump’s tariffs — focusing on countries like Canada and Brazil instead of China and Mexico, where it would be harder to win widespread support.

Nevertheless, even many of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress continue to stick with the president on tariffs. And the Republicans who voted against the tariffs Wednesday night had little to lose. Two are retiring, three more are running in competitive districts, where they have more to fear in a general election than a primary and the last is Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who is already facing a primary challenger hand-picked by Trump.

That six Republicans broke with the president is “not great messaging,” a second person close to the White House, also granted anonymity to speak candidly.

But, the person added, “I was surprised it wasn’t more.”

Samuel Benson contributed to this report.