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WASHINGTON – Republican senator threatened Sunday to hold president
Donald Trump
judicial candidates to protest against the imposition by the administration of duties on imports from US allies, including Canada and Mexico.
"I and a number of senators, at least some of us, will rise up and say no more judges before we have a vote, for example, on tariffs." Sen.
Jeff Flake
(R., Ariz.) Stated on ABC.
Mr Flake's comments followed reports last week that he considered such tactics and had already set his sights on at least one Trump candidate.
Senator Chuck Grassley
(R., Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday in a statement that Flake was responsible for delaying a vote scheduled that day on Britt Grant, a Supreme Court justice. of the state of Georgia. judge of appeal.
Mr. Flake has "concerns with the administration and the chief's office on matters unrelated to his appointment," Grassley said.
The Arizona legislator is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approves candidates before the full Senate exam, where Republicans hold a majority of 11-10.
Mr. Flake, who does not run for reelection and who has become one of the president's most vocal Republican critics, is targeting a high priority for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) : Eliminate a large backlog Senate confirmation votes on Conservative judges appointed by Mr. Trump in federal courts.
Mr. McConnell is already putting on a needle in the very divided Senate – the Republicans have a majority of 51 to 49 – to get the approval of the judges who have drawn opposition from Democrats describing the candidates as too ideological. With
Senator John McCain
(R., Ariz.) At home fighting brain cancer, Mr. Flake could wreak havoc on Mr. Trump's candidates by delaying the votes and then refraining from them, especially his own. He can get other Republicans to join him.
By threatening to tear apart existing trade agreements, and cutting imports to try to reduce the trade deficit, Trump has challenged the pro-liberal long-standing tendencies of the Republican party. While many GOP lawmakers have complained about Trump's new policies, they have done little to try to stop them, and Republican leaders have blocked measures to restrict the president's authority over trade.
Mr Trump recently imposed heavy taxes on steel and aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, citing a Cold War era law to him. to do so in the name of national security. The administration said that a global glut of metals has weakened the health of domestic industries necessary to maintain a dynamic defense industrial base.
Flake said countries like Canada did not pose a security threat and urged Republicans to "stand up on issues such as the tariffs we face right now" and enact laws.
"We are at the beginning of a large-scale trade war," he added. "And the president just seems to want to climb."
In a television interview broadcast Saturday, Mr. Trump said he thought his rates were helping the US economy, encouraging more domestic production. "Our iron and steel industry is coming back because, in this way, they do not have to pay the fare. It's very good actually, "said the president.
Write to Del Quentin Wilber at [email protected]
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