Donald Trump's honeymoon with Republicans on Capitol Hill appears to be over as his sweeping tariffs on more than 60 countries sent recession jitters through Washington and Wall Street alike.
The impact of President Trump's "explosive" tariffs, as he put it, is cracking the foundations of his once loyal Republican-dominated Congress, who have mostly fallen in line since he secured the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
Last night at a National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner, Donald Trump came face-to-face with some of that growing opposition within the GOP and seemed unphased by the market turmoil and recession fears.
(This was before Mr Trump announced his dramatic 90-day pause of higher reciprocal tariffs - while raising the China tariffs to 125%.)
"I see some rebel Republican, some guy who wants to grandstand, say, 'I think that Congress should take over negotiations.' Let me tell you, you don't negotiate like I negotiate," said Mr Trump defiantly.
President Trump's remarks in Washington DC laid bare a growing Republican resistance in Congress over his tariff policies.
Around a dozen House Republicans are considering supporting Republican Representative Don Bacon's bill to sunset a president's tariffs after 60 days unless Congress passes a resolution of approval, according to Axios.
While seven Republican senators have also signed a bipartisan bill that would require Congress to approve a president's tariffs plan.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell and Republican Senator Charles Grassley, would set new rules where the White House has to give a reason to Congress for new or increased duties, outline the possible impact on US consumers and businesses and then give lawmakers a chance to reject them within 60 days of imposition.
"For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch," said Senator Grassley in a statement.
As Senator Grassley indicated, the president of the United States didn’t always have the power to impose tariffs.
The US Constitution grants Congress the 'Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises’.
Over the last century, Congress has gradually delegated specific tariff-imposing authority to the president for reasons of national security, economic emergency or retaliatory trade policy.
Ceding tariff-imposing power goes as far back as 1917 when the US president got permission to regulate trade with enemies.
Flexibility for the president to negotiate reciprocal trade agreements came in 1930 after the Smoot-Hawley act, which raised tariffs and subsequently made the Great Depression worse.
Congress also said the president could impose tariffs through Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That allowed the commander-in-chief to impose tariffs and other trade restrictions if imports were deemed to threaten national security.
The Trade Act of 1974 also empowered the president, via a US trade representative, to slap tariffs and other measures in response to unfair trade practices by other countries.
These series of measures gradually transferred tariff-setting authority to the president and significantly eroded Congress’s control over trade policy.
Some in Congress are now moving to dismantle those presidential tariff powers and reclaim its constitutional authority.
There appears to be enough Republican senators to join Democrats to push the Senate bill ahead and overcome a filibuster.
However, it faces some hurdles in the form of Republican Senate majority leader John Thune, who will unlikely give it the green light and the support falls short of a two-third majority needed to overcome a presidential veto, which has already been threatened by Mr Trump.
Nevertheless, Republicans marching in step with President Trump no longer seems to be guaranteed following this blowback and recent headline-grabbing wrangling over a budget and remote voting bills in the House.
Capitol Hill is preparing for a two-week recess where many elected officials will return home and probably hear first-hand the reaction from their constituents to the tariffs.
All eyes will be on this Easter break to see if it could fuel a Republican revolt and turn this simmering discontent over Donald Trump’s tariffs into a full-blown challenge to his trade agenda.
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