Flake Calls on Senate to Stand Up to Trump — ‘Let’s Not Move Anymore Judges Until We Get a Vote’ on Tariffs

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said Senators should stand up to President Donald Trump by not approving any more judges until they get votes on things like tariffs.

Flakes said, “I can tell you Republicans need to stand up on issues like tariffs. Facing us right now — we’re at the nascent stages of a full-scale trade war that the president seems to want to escalate. It all stems from the steel and aluminum tariffs. Congress needs to stand up and say, ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’ You can’t use section 232 to claim that Canada is a national security threat. That’s not who we are.”

He continued, “The Congress has been lacking. And on something like tariffs, for example, the Senate ought to bring legislation to the floor that says, ‘Hey, we’re going push back here.’ I’m sorry. You’re misusing 232, Canada, Mexico, are not national security threats. The European Union exports cars to the U.S. does not represent the national security threat. And we ought to push back. If we don’t why are we there?”

He added, “I do think unless we can excessing something other than approving the president’s executive calendar, his nominees,  judges we have no reason to be there. I think myself and a number of senators at least a few of us, will stand up and say let’s not move any more judges until we get a vote, for example, on tariffs.”

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