Corker: ‘I think there’s a jailbreak brewing’ in opposition to Trump tariffs

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Sunday that he thinks there is support building for legislation to check President Trump’s power on implementing tariffs.

“I don’t know a senator that isn’t concerned about the broad use of this,” Corker said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” 

“I think there’s a jailbreak brewing,” he added, arguing the administration is underprepared to deal with the fallout of its tariff policies.

Corker said Sunday that the administration’s use of the trade law’s national security provisions, known as Section 232, amounts to “an abuse of authority.”

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Corker has been an outspoken critic of the president’s decision to slap steep tariffs on Canada, the European Union and other U.S. allies, which the administration justified by claiming the tariffs were a matter of national security. 

Those countries have responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own on U.S. goods, prompting concerns of a looming trade war.

Corker previously introduced an amendment that would have required congressional approval if Trump wanted to implement tariffs on the basis of national security. However, Republicans blocked the measure.

But Corker expressed optimism on Sunday that Republican dissent on the issue is growing, likening it to the recent bipartisan outcry over the Trump administration’s immigration policy that led thousands of migrant family separations.

“We’re getting ready to have as similar situation to what happened on immigration policy,” he said. “And I’m hoping there will be a jailbreak and we will move toward passing this legislation.”