Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that passing legislation that would block President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs is not the way to stop them from happening.
During an interview on SiriusXM, the Kentucky Republican said passing any sort of legislation — such as the bill proposed by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. — would be a waste of time.
"I don't think we need to be trying to rein in the president through legislation. No. 1, it would be an exercise in futility because he wouldn't sign it," McConnell said. "I think the best tool for those of us who are concerned about this devolving into a full-scale trade war is to continue to try to convince the president that we need to not let this go on too long or go too far."
McConnell admitted that he is worried about the potential for a trade war with China and other countries. Trump recently instituted import tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe, Mexico, and Canada in the name of national security.
Those countries have since responded with plans to tax goods they import from the U.S. Mexico declared it will tax U.S. steel, bourbon, pork, and cheese.
McConnell said he worries an all-out trade war could harm his state.
"Not only will bourbon be targeted, but we're a big agricultural state as well. I'm worried about agricultural exports," he said.
"And of course, we make the Toyota Camry in Kentucky. The supplier plants plus the Toyota plant provide about 45,000 jobs in my state. So it's pretty safe to say that I'm among those hoping that we don't end up going too far here."
Trump claims the tariffs are merely economic moves designed to make trading more fair because other countries already tax several U.S. exports.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.