Freedom Index
Listen to the article
Being a GOP politician in the Trump era is defined by two things: publicly embarrassing yourself to show support for Trump’s most dangerous policy ideas, and lying to your constituents about what those ideas will do to them. It is an inherently pathetic situation. And yet not one of them seems capable of showing even the slightest hint of principle or backbone. The latest example is Senator Katie Britt, whose previous claim to fame was giving the Republican response to Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union speech. Her response won a bunch of descriptive accolades from “deeply weird,” to “creepy as fuck,” to “scary mom,” to just plain “strange.”
But she showed she’s a good Trumpian MAGA soldier, and thus she does what a good Trumpian MAGA soldier does, which is lie to the public while sucking up to Trump in private to try to get him not to put in place the disastrous policy proposals that will obviously hurt America (and her constituents).
In this case, it’s Trump’s bizarrely stupid obsession with tariffs, based on his impressive unwillingness to understand that trade deficits aren’t inherently bad (we get actual goods; they get dollars that mostly come right back into the US economy). Britt has dutifully done the loyal soldier bit, publicly insisting that tariffs are great for the US and for the state she represents, Alabama. Here’s what she said:
That’s her tweeting — right after the Supreme Court said that Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs exceeded the authority Congress gave him under the IEEPA — that:
What the media won’t tell you is that President Trump’s tariffs work, and that’s why even the Biden Administration left them in place.
Today’s ruling was disappointing, but as POTUS made clear, we are not going to return to the status quo of allowing American jobs and manufacturing to be sidelined in exchange for cheap junk from foreign adversaries.
I will continue working with President Trump and his team to bring manufacturing back home.
So apparently “tariffs work.” Except, as (of all places!) the WSJ’s Editorial Board noted, via a FOIA request, they found that when Trump announced these tariffs, Britt went groveling to Trump asking for exemptions for businesses in Alabama.
What Ms. Britt won’t tell you is that she was privately seeking exemptions 10 months earlier. That’s when her legislative director wrote an email, “Sen. Britt Alabama Trade Priorities,” seeking help for “specific Alabama manufacturers.” We obtained the email from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office via the Freedom of Information Act. The email begins by saying Ms. Britt “is supportive” of rebalancing trade. Then it moves to “four pressing issues,” each a plea for an Alabama company.
• TNT Fireworks: “Unfortunately, there is no domestic firework manufacturer, and over 99% of firework products are produced in China,” it says. While TNT has tried other sources, “the quality and safety is not close,” and imported fireworks “pose no threat to America’s broader trade or national security interests.” Also, be patriotic, since TNT was then “preparing for the United States Semiquincentennial.”
• Novelis: This aluminum company was “currently building a $4.1 billion recycling and rolling plant,” expected to “create 1,000 new direct jobs.” At the time, however, it relied on imports from Canada, South Korea and Brazil, and Mr. Trump’s tariffs posed “cash flow problems” to “finish their new plant in Alabama.”
• Kronospan: A maker of wood panels, it was “undertaking a $600 million expansion,” requiring “highly specialized equipment that is not available from domestic manufacturers.” The extra tariff cost? About $60 million, threatening the project’s viability: “Senator Britt is concerned about the potential loss of this transformative economic development.”
• Airbus: The plane maker was “building its third final assembly line” in Mobile, leading to 1,000 jobs. “We’ve recently learned that this expansion has been suspended indefinitely,” the email says. “Trade policy has made the project financially unviable,” and “Senator Britt is deeply concerned about the potential loss of high-quality American jobs.”
Yeah, so apparently “tariffs work” except… they harm businesses in Alabama so pretty pretty pretty please will you make special exceptions in a backroom deal for some of the biggest companies I represent?
The USTR responded that “there is no exclusion process” for products covered under the tariffs. Now, a real Senator, actually representing her constituents, might go public with the simple facts that the tariffs were bullshit and harmful to Americans and American companies. She could have easily pointed out that Congress — where she is one of 535 members who could actually vote on this — is the branch the Constitution hands the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and to lay duties. She could have easily pointed out that Trump’s tariffs would be inflationary and damaging to people in Alabama and across the country.
But, no. Publicly criticizing the MAGA god king isn’t an option. So instead she praises his disastrous, inflationary policies in public, while privately begging for a special dispensation for a handful of large Alabama companies.
As the editorial board of the WSJ points out:
The point isn’t that Ms. Britt made bad arguments against these four tariffs. It’s that she made good ones, which show why blunderbuss trade wars are an economic mistake, along with how tariffs deepen the D.C. swamp. Big company CEOs facing tariff harm know how to get a U.S. Senator to plead their case. But who speaks for the little guy being walloped?
It’s a rare day that I’m in agreement with the editorial board over there, but on this they are right. And it appears they’re hunting more hypocritical GOP senators as well:
Tariffs for thee, exemptions for me. Join the GOP club: In Mr. Trump’s first term, Sen. Josh Hawley lobbied for a carveout on saw blades, Rep. Mark Meadows on furniture wood, Rep. Andy Biggs on patio screens. Who else? When more records arrive, we’ll let you know.
None of this is particularly surprising. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be called out. The Republican Party used to be against trade protectionism. These days, it’s simply for Donald Trump and all his delusions.
Read the full article here
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using AI-powered analysis and real-time sources.