Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have broken with Senate Republicans in backing President Donald Trump on his Mexico tariffs.
Rubio tweeted:
"I don't generally like tariffs either. But what alternative do my GOP colleagues have to get #Mexico to secure its southern border, use the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to screen northbound rail cars & vehicles & act on intel we provide on human traffickers?"
Sen. Scott added: "I don't like tariffs but I'm going to support the president because I believe Mexico could be a better partner. They need to figure out how to reduce the number of people who are being apprehended at the border."
The report comes days before the 5% tariffs on all Mexican imports are set to kick in. The U.S. and Mexico earlier Wednesday during meetings in Washington, D.C., failed to reach a deal on immigration issues.
Trump tweeted Wednesday evening "progress is being made, but not nearly enough!"
"Immigration discussions at the White House with representatives of Mexico have ended for the day," he said. "Progress is being made, but not nearly enough! Border arrests for May are at 133,000 because of Mexico & the Democrats in Congress refusing to budge on immigration reform. Further talks with Mexico will resume tomorrow with the understanding that, if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule. The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA!"
Trump announced the tariffs in a surprise tweet last Thursday, saying they would be imposed "until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP."
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