Some Democrats appear to be thawing to Trump’s ice-cold tariff agenda.
A moderate Democrat signaled support for President Trump’s stance on tariffs despite his colleagues’ public outcries.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) pointed out in a lengthy statement that he himself proposed a 10% blanket tariff on U.S. imports earlier this year and said he was happy Trump’s baseline policy was the same—and even publicly pledged to work with Trump on enshrining it in federal law in a subsequent interview with Fox News Digital.
“What I can say now is I’m pleased the president is building his tariff agenda on the foundation of a universal 10% tariff like the one I proposed in the BUILT USA Act. This ring fence around the American economy is a good start to erasing our unsustainable trade deficits,” Golden said in his statement.
“I’m eager to work with the president to fix the broken ‘free trade’ system that made multinational corporations rich but ruined manufacturing communities across the country. But tariffs must be paired with policies that prioritize American families’ prosperity.”
He noted, however, that Trump “introduced a number of new tariff policies” alongside the 10% universal tax and that he would need time to review the policies in detail before weighing in on them further.
“We need to make sure that the new approach benefits working people—that means supporting unions, the trades and apprenticeship programs, cutting regulations that hold back production, unleashing American energy and using tariff revenue to support domestic manufacturers that create good-paying jobs for Americans,” he said.
He told Fox News Digital in a brief interview Thursday that he was open to working with Trump on codifying the 10% tariffs measure in federal law.
“I’m really glad that he included that in his kind of broader strategy that he rolled out yesterday. And on the reciprocal tariffs, I would assume that he wants flexibility, he probably likes doing that through an executive order,” Golden said. “But I’m of the mind that the 10% global tariff is something that should be part of a longer-term strategy for the U.S. And so, you know, I’m hoping that I can help the president get some members of Congress to support doing that in a bill and maybe put it on his desk.”
“I think that the president and his team would have to do some heavy lifting to make sure that the House Republicans supported it, but if they didn’t have a lot of defections, you know, could I find some like-minded Democrats for a 10% global tariff? I think so.”
Golden has been known to break from his party on several key occasions.
Meanwhile, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged to force a vote targeting the new national emergency Trump is using to justify the 10% blanket tariff.
“I’ll soon introduce a privileged resolution to force a vote on ending the made up national emergency Trump is using to justify these taxes. Republicans can’t keep ducking this—it’s time they show whether they support the economic pain Trump is inflicting on their constituents,” Meeks said in a statement.
READ NEXT: This Investigation Could Turn Bill Gates’ World Upside Down!
