President Donald Trump touts tariffs as a fiscal elixir for all he claims ails the American economy, dismissing foreign trade as unnecessary and in some instances, unwanted. White House messaging to anxious Republicans in Congress has been the exact opposite—echoing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reassurance that trade is vital and tariffs are temporary.
Indeed, with Trump agreeing to the framework of an agreement with the United Kingdom and a momentary easing of tensions with China amid ongoing negotiations with Beijing, it would seem Bessent is the more reliable public messenger of administration trade policy. And that might explain, at least partially, why congressional Republicans worried about economic fallout from higher tariffs have so far kept their concerns private, even as damaging disputes with key trading partners in Asia and Europe persist.
“The message from the White House to the caucus has been: Deals are coming—this is to get deals, we’re getting deals,” a senior Republican Senate aide told The Dispatch. “This is not an effort to end all global trade or anything like that.” This aide added: “Members give a lot of leeway because they truly believe the administration is working for deals, and we’ve seen some evidence of them.”
Some resistance to Trump’s trade agenda exists among congressional Republicans; particularly in the Senate.
