Trump tariffs pose danger for vulnerable Republicans

Vulnerable House Republicans are being put on defense amid the fallout from President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, which have stoked uncertainty about the economy.

Members of the party insist that short-term pain will be outweighed by the long-term benefits of the move, which Trump says is meant to usher in a new era of American prosperity.

But some Republicans in swing districts are already being pressed about the tariffs, raising concerns among some in the party that Trump’s moves could haunt them into next year. 

“There’s going to be a point here if this goes on too long that it will solidify in people’s minds and even if it starts to ease, even almost close to parody, that’s the real danger here for Republicans,” one GOP strategist said.

“And by the way, if there’s short term pain and inflation exists in November of next year, Republicans are going to get wiped out.”

Markets took a nosedive Thursday following Trump’s announcement of a general 10 percent tariff on goods imported to the U.S., along with other targeted tariffs on various U.S. trading partners. The financial environment was not much better Friday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,200 points and the S&P 500 lost 10 percent over the course of two days. 

The developments have spooked constituents, with some already pressing their represenatives about them. 

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R), who represents a toss-up district in Virginia, was asked Wednesday about what a constituent called the president’s “inflationary tariff policy” at a telephone town hall Wednesday, according to audio obtained by The Hill.

Kiggans responded by arguing Trump is “playing the long game” and “standing up for American workers, jobs, and businesses” amid the decline in domestic manufacturing. 

“I know that there's a lot of concern, anxiety, and I almost want to say fear-mongering sometimes for what this looks like in the short-term, but we have to think about the role of tariffs and what this looks like and why the president has put these in place,” Kiggans said, noting China has a 67 percent tariff on goods that are imported from the U.S. 

"I just ask that we be patient with the process and remember the end goal, and I think that in time, although I think any time there's change, either it is the job front or the tariff front, I think the end goal is the thing we can probably all agree on,” she said. 

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who represents a district former Vice President Kamala Harris won last year, was more critical, defending some of the administration’s approach while noting that “Nebraskans want free trade agreements, not trade animosity.”

“However, for far too long our allies have kept Nebraska’s products out of Europe by charging a tariff on each imported food product based on how much milk protein, milk fat, starch, and sugar it contains,” Bacon added. “With roughly 40.8 percent of our total exports going to Mexico and Canada, I was pleased to see President Trump not impose any new tariffs on Canada and Mexico.”

Republicans have sought to flip Democrats’ attacks around, arguing that Trump is on the side of the American worker.

“Once upon a time, Democrats backed the American worker–now they’re all in to support Beijing,” said Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. 

Still, some Republicans see cause for concern. Trump is already grappling with increasingly low approvals on the economy: According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sunday, his approval rating on his handling of the economy sits at 37 percent. Another 30 percent said they approved of his efforts to address the high cost of living. A CBS News/YouGov poll released Monday, meanwhile, showed that 64 percent said the administration was not focusing enough on lowering prices. 

“To see the president underwater by a pretty significant degree already on the economy — and that was before tariffs really started to catch fire and attention — that is what should be alarming,” the GOP strategist said. 

While Trump is not on the ballot next year, Democrats are already working to tie every Republican in Congress to a worst-case scenario on tariffs. 

“Republicans are raising prices for families,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in an interview with The Hill. “With the cost of living being a top issue in the election last year, [it’s] not surprising that it’s a top issue right now and something that Republicans promised to address.” 

“This is chaos, dysfunction, and the president implementing tariffs with no plan,” she said. “And it’s not done yet because we’re going to continue to see retaliation from the international community, so there are long term impacts,” she said. “He can break things very easily, and it’s hard to put them back together.”

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) predicted “there’s going to be a huge price to pay politically” for the tariffs. 

“People really understand that at the end of the day, a tariff is a tax on the middle class, on the working class, on small businesses, those are already the people that are getting hammered right now. So it just really feels like kicking people when they're already down,” Ryan told The Hill’s sister television network NewsNation. 

Not all Republicans have been supportive of the president’s tariffs. A number of Senate Republicans have expressed varying degrees of concerns over the announcement. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned that if other countries “jack up their tariffs” it would amount to a “bad outcome for the country.” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) noted that while there is merit to Trump’s argument other countries are taking advantage of the U.S., many of his constituents are worried about the aggressive nature Trump is using tariffs. 

On Thursday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) teamed up with Sen. Maria Cantwell (R-Wash.) to introduce legislation requiring the president alert Congress on new or increased tariffs within a period of 48 hours and to explain the reasoning behind the tariffs. Additionally, the bill would require Congress to pass a joint resolution of approval within 60 days or the tariffs would expire.

“I think that the patience will run out for a lot of members who just aren’t ideologically with Trump on this,” said David Kochel, an Iowa-based Republican strategist. “I think there’s also a hope on the part of Republicans who might have more of a free trade instinct that this is really a negotiating tactic and a positioning and that we’re only in the first inning.” 

Other Republicans are urging their party to unify behind Trump’s agenda.

“My advice to Republican members of Congress is to ignore all the noise, support the president and let’s give him a chance to normalize trade relations,” said Nick Iarossi, a Republican lobbyist. “Right now it’s important that all members of the Republican congressional delegation support the president.” 

Some Republicans also warn not to read too much into the the stock market and lean into how voters are feeling about their wallets, something Republicans mastered in their 2024 messaging. 

“It’s been a devastating two days,” the strategist said. “But the midterm elections aren’t going to be based on how the stock market did in April of 2025, or frankly how the market is doing then. What it’s going to be based on is how this has all impacted their daily lives.” 

Jackie Koppell contributed.