Donald Trump's recent pause on tariffs offered a temporary respite for the stock market but revealed ongoing tensions with China. Notably, Congress has abdicated its responsibility by supporting budget resolutions that prevent any vote to challenge Trump's tariff powers, showcased by the language in the latest budget. This situation highlights a constitutional crisis, as Congress allows the president to unilaterally control trade, underlining a troubling trend of abandoning checks and balances in governance and increasing executive power.
As Sahil Kupar of NBC News reported on Wednesday: "House Republicans tucked language into the budget [resolution] 'rule' that bans the House from voting to terminate Trump's emergency declaration used to impose tariffs.... lawmakers who vote for this are officially giving up their power to revoke his tariffs until October."
However, once the reality that China was still subject to harsh tariffs became clear, the market tumbled the next day.
The good news is that even as uncertainty continues to hobble the global economy, the limits of Trump's ability to capriciously sabotage global trade are becoming clear.
In fact, Congress has become even more irresponsible and cowardly, cowering before Trump and irresponsibly ceding its tariff powers to the executive.
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