Republican optimism over President Trump’s tariffs quickly vanished on Tuesday after the White House reaffirmed its stance on new levies, leading the stock market to lose its early gains. The mood among GOP lawmakers soured as they grew frustrated with what they saw as mixed signals from the administration.
Earlier on Tuesday, there was brief optimism in the markets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Trump was ready to negotiate with trading partners. Trump added to the positive sentiment, calling his recent conversation with South Korean President Han Duck-soo “great” and noting that officials from South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were open to negotiations.
But that optimism didn’t last long.
Trump escalated the trade war by announcing he would add a 50 percent tariff on top of the 54 percent tariff he had already planned for China, bringing the total to 104 percent. This move caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall by over 300 points, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping by 1.5 and 2 percent, respectively.
The White House’s tough rhetoric raised alarms among Republicans, who want the administration to negotiate with other countries and end the trade war as quickly as possible.
“Those things don’t happen overnight, which is why I guess everybody’s going to have to be a little bit patient,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). “But clearly, any progress they can show, demonstrate concessions that have been made, progress against the curve with respect to those deals, I think everybody’s going to… view that as a positive step forward.”
The White House is putting Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in charge of negotiations. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that nearly 70 countries had already reached out to Trump to begin talks. “Countries are falling over themselves,” she said. “America does not need other countries as much as other countries need us.”
However, not all Republicans are on board with the approach. In a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Greer defended Trump’s aggressive trade tactics, but even Republicans questioned his strategy. “Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” asked Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), expressing skepticism. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is co-sponsoring a bill to limit Trump’s tariff power, said Congress had “delegated too much authority to the president.”
One of the biggest concerns for Senate Republicans is the mixed messages coming from the White House. While Bessent signals openness to negotiations, trade adviser Peter Navarro insists that tariffs are “not a negotiation.”
“It is important that everybody be on the same page and hopefully get that kind of synced up,” said Thune. “But it’s important that his team reflect what the ultimate purpose and objective is and hopefully that’ll become more clear with time.”
Republicans, in particular, are wary of Navarro’s hardline stance. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) criticized Navarro for his harsh communication style, saying he lacks understanding of how other world leaders think. “If you were to just apply rationality… the idea that somehow every leader is going to do exactly what is natural to us, I think, is naive,” Cramer said. “It’s those absolutes. I always have some distrust of people who are certain of everything.”
Trump, however, is sticking to his approach. He responded to Navarro’s hawkish position by saying, “they can both be true. There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations.”
Leavitt emphasized that the president “always has a listening ear” and rejected the notion that there was a shift in policy due to the market’s recent turbulence.
Despite the mixed messages, Republicans know that Trump is the ultimate decision-maker. “The only person that matters is the president. This is his policy. He designed it,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), acknowledging the significance of the looming tariffs on China. “This is a reset,” he added. “It’s a big reset button.”
