Trump floats new emergency declaration to impose Mexico tariffs

Senate Republicans said Tuesday that the administration has floated declaring a second national emergency to implement new tariffs on Mexico, a move that would set up a high-stakes clash with Congress. GOP senators emerged from a closed-door lunch with White House deputy counsel Pat Philbin and Justice Department officials saying the issue was discussed during the meeting, but that the administration indicated it had not yet reached a resolution on whether or not it would need to take the controversial step. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters that Republican senators pressed administration officials during the lunch on whether or not there would need to be a new national emergency declaration.  Trump says he will impose the tariffs on Mexico under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act as soon as next week unless Mexico cracks down on the flow of migrants from Central America across the southern border. But declaring a second national emergency, after Trump used the tool earlier this year to sidestep Congress on border funding, would pave the way for a significant fight with Senate Republicans, who have publicly and privately voiced opposition to the tariffs. A new national emergency declaration, GOP senators say, would set up a new resolution of disapproval vote in an attempt to block the tariffs from going into effect. Johnson added the the administration "would have to be concerned" about a resolution of disapproval vote, saying "tariffs are not real popular in the Republican conference." The Senate passed a previous resolution of disapproval earlier this year to block Trump's emergency declaration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump, however, vetoed the measure, and Congress didn't have the votes to override him...MORE

"tariffs are not real popular in the Republican conference."  

What a switch. Shortly after the founding of the party in 1856, Republicans were strong supporters of high tariffs for the benefit of industrialists in the east, and eventually brought farm products under the tariff system to shore up their support in the west.