Sen. Murphy’s analysis is sound: Trump wants control of lawyers, universities, government agencies, and businesses. He gains the latter through tariffs. Consider the position of Apple, whose iPhone is set to cost 50% more because it’s made in China. What choice do they have but to appease Trump and seek a waiver, if only because shareholders will demand it?11/ The tariffs aren’t economic policy. They are political weapons.
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 3, 2025
But as long as we see this clearly, we can stop him. Public mobilization is working. Today, a few Republicans joined Democrats to vote against one set of tariffs.
The people still have the power.
But the solution, as the Senator alludes, lies in Congress. His argument that this is why the Constitution puts the economic power in the Congress is correct. Why Congress gave tariff authority to the President goes unaddressed. And the only solution now is…wait for the mud-terms.
It’s not like we can recall all the idiots in the House who made Johnson the Speaker (he announced yesterday the Senate resolution Murphy alludes to is DOA in the House). GOP representatives are hiding from town halls, and that was before yesterday afternoon. So public opinion turning against Congress probably won’t have any impact sooner than November, 2026 does.
Congress can undo this. Congress won’t. Not until 2027, at the earliest. That’s the only silver lining in this cloud.
I mean, after all:
There is no general “economic emergency” that provides the statutory justification for global tariffs; if anything can be justified on national security grounds than everything can be justified on national security grounds; and if everything can be justified on national security grounds: Danger.
Trump’s authoritarian rule is not permanent. It can be dismantled in his term. But holy fuck, the cost….
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