Senate panel to hold hearing on Trump tariffs next week

Members of the Senate Finance Committee will soon get a chance to grill Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on the Trump administration’s recent tariff decisions.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the chairman of the committee, said on Wednesday that Ross will testify before the panel on June 20 to dig into the steel and aluminum tariffs, as well as floated penalties on imported autos.

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“I have made no secret my concerns with the administration’s use of 232 tariffs,” Hatch said in a statement. “These tariffs are ultimately paid by American consumers and cause harm to American manufacturers, undermining the success of tax reform.”

Hatch added that the hearing will give Ross the chance to discuss the effects of the tariffs, which have sparked bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill.

The hearing with Ross comes even as GOP lawmakers have shown little interest in passing legislation that would rein in Trump’s tariff abilities.

GOP Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.) was blocked from getting a vote this week on his bill that would require congressional approval if Trump wanted to enact tariffs in the name of national security.

Republicans have worried that Trump won’t sign the bill and are wary of sparking a fight with the president months before the midterm election, where the party is trying to hold onto control of both chambers.

Corker blasted his colleagues earlier Wednesday describing the relationship between GOP leadership and Trump as a “cult-like situation.”