Politics

Analyst: Republican Lawmakers Won’t Back Trump on Tariffs with a ‘Stupid Vote’

By Jake Beardslee · May 31, 2025

A recent court decision has revived Donald Trump’s tariff initiatives targeting U.S. allies, but some political insiders predict the strategy may not hold up in the long term. During a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “Way Too Early,” Jonathan Kott, a former adviser to Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), argued that Republican members of Congress are unlikely to support Trump’s trade moves due to political risk.

Host Ali Vitali noted the growing unpredictability in markets and asked whether Democrats’ assumption—that market volatility would force Trump or his advisors to reverse course—was misguided. Kott disagreed, stating that “Congress is not going to step in” and that Republicans have made it clear they don’t want to be associated with the consequences of the tariff strategy. “They’re not going to step in on tariffs. They have said, we don’t want to take the votes on this because they know at some point Donald Trump’s not going to be on the ballot,” Kott said. “And those senators are going to have to face voters and say, ‘Hey, I took this stupid vote and raised prices on you.’”

Kott also pointed out that Treasury Secretary Bessent had offered some intervention, but Congress as a whole, including Republicans like Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), have distanced themselves. Crapo, according to Kott, rejected the idea of including the tariffs in a reconciliation bill despite Trump’s assertions that the plan would generate “billions and billions of dollars.”

As Kott summarized, “All of Congress has said ‘President, this is on you,’ and Democrats are happy to let him make this fight—watch the markets go up and down. The uncertainty is what’s killing him.”