House Majority Leader McCarthy is Not a Fan of Trump's Tariff Plan

Thankfully, not every Republican feels so compelled by party loyalty that they will blindly follow the shiny “R” dangling beside Trump’s name.

We need some sanity and a few adults in Washington, especially now.

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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy isn’t one I agree with across the board, but he gets golf claps from me for this one.

While Trump was psychotically tweeting this weekend, over everything from “Saturday Night Live” skits that offended his delicate sensibilities to jobs, the aforementioned adults were somewhere downing Alka-Seltzer and crafting their own messages, I imagine.

Part of Trump’s weekend idiocy included threatening to impose a 35% tariff on businesses that move their operations overseas.

On Monday, McCarthy was asked by reporters about Trump’s threats to the free market.

He responded:

“I don’t want to get into some type of trade war,” McCarthy said Monday during a news briefing with reporters in his Capitol office.

McCarthy’s briefing was dominated by questions about Trump’s tariff proposal and his deal to provide millions in incentives to Carrier to keep jobs in Indiana.

“Do you want to know my philosophical belief?” McCarthy said during one heated exchange with reporters. “I believe in the free market. I don’t think government should be picking winners and losers.”

And you would be correct, Sir.

Trump has no clue what he’s doing or why what he has proposed is, ultimately, a horrible misstep for the economic well-being of our nation.

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McCarthy has been a firm supporter of Trump’s, but in this matter, he is parting ways with the orange menace and is hoping he will cede leadership on this matter to the GOP’s tax reform efforts.

“I think there are other ways to achieve what the president-elect is talking about,” McCarthy said, “but the only way you can do any of this is you’ve got to do tax reform. And that’s why I think that will be a cornerstone of what we do.”

A leading conservative, free-market advocacy group lauded McCarthy’s comments on Trump’s proposed tariff.

“Tax cuts and deregulation will make the American economy great again, but tariffs and trade wars will make it tank again,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement. “The president-elect is spot on when he calls for cutting taxes and federal regulations, but 35-percent tariffs would be devastating to consumers and businesses.

“The Majority Leader is right to caution against protectionism and to urge a robust debate on free markets and trade,” added McIntosh, a former House GOP lawmaker.

McCarthy tried to reassure the press who were gathered.

Or maybe he was trying to reassure himself. Where we are now, as a nation, it’s hard to tell.

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“Take a deep breath. He’s not sworn in yet,” McCarthy advised the roughly 30 reporters who packed his conference room. “I know you gotta write news, but let’s not predetermine what the outcome is yet. …

“Is he president of the United States right now? So what did he give them? He has no authority yet to give them anything,” added McCarthy when pressed on the state of Indiana’s decision to grant heating and air conditioning giant Carrier Corp. $7 million in tax breaks to prevent about 1,000 jobs from being sent to Mexico.

Ok. Ok. You’re right.

Freakish times we’re living in, but if House Republicans can hold it together for the next four years, we may survive this hideous mistake forced on us by Trump’s cultists.

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