After President Donald Trump announced a 90-day “pause” on tariffs for most countries except for China, Wall Street watchers weren’t the only ones breathing a sigh of relief. Trump’s reversal was also welcome news to many nervous Republicans worried about the potential for a full-blown global trade war and a subsequent recession that could sink their 2026 election chances.
Well, for now. There’s no guarantee that this is the end of the whiplash-inducing trade policies coming from the White House. After all, Trump has said he’s keeping the baseline 10% tariff on almost all imports, as well as raising tariffs on Chinese imports up to 125%. If there was ever a time for congressional Republicans to pass legislation that would rein in the president’s tariff authority, it would be now.
But, it won’t happen. At least not in the near future. Here’s why:
Trump has defied political gravity for the last 10 years. The safest assumption is that he’ll continue to do so.Over the last ten years, Trump has been able to survive an array of political scandals and events,
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