Subject: Republicans flirt with rebellion if Trump moves ahead on Mexico tariffs Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:58 pm
Republican senators railed against President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs against Mexico in a private lunch on Tuesday with White House and Justice Department officials, who struggled to explain their legal process for implementing the new levies. Roughly a half dozen GOP senators stood to speak about why the decision to impose tariffs on Mexico was ill-advised, a person who attended the lunch told CNN. The members insisted Trump hold off on any declarations until he can brief members personally on the plan, according to this person. But with Trump in Europe and members scheduled to leave for D-Day commemorations, that may not be possible before Monday's deadline for activating the first band of 5% tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico. One GOP Senate aide said there were few clear answers given at the lunch. "They were asked repeatedly how this will work and they couldn't answer," the aide said. Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who was the US trade representative under President George W. Bush, said after the lunch that "it wasn't really a policy discussion per se." When asked about the feeling in the room, Portman added: "No one did not express concern."