Senior Dem Congressman: 'We'll End Trump Tariffs;' Trump Talks About His Ballroom

Ending President Trump's tariffs will be a top item on Democrats agenda when they assume control of Congress in January following a midterm election that wasn't just a blue wave but a hurricane that elected 54 Democrats to the U.S. Senate and 237 Dem0crats to the House of Representatives. That's a true majority. Not a veto-proof majority, but a majority.

You might have thought President Trump Wednesday (11/4), the day of the Election Day disaster, would have been on the phone to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to announce he would end the tariffs which have devasted U.S. exports of beer, wine and spirits to our northern neighbor.

But, no. President Trump held a press conference in the middle of his still-under-construction White House ballroom at which he talked about the marble had had gotten for the floor.

It fell to Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin to his party woill work to end Trump's tariffs on allies, including Canada, when it takes control of Congress next year.

"We want to have free and fair trade with Canada like the rest of the world. So that's going to be very much on our agenda," Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, told CBC News Wednesday on Capitol Hill. "That's one of the reasons we won Congress back — because we're going to put an end to these tariffs," Raskin said, adding:

"Congress controls taxes and tariffs under the Constitution. Congress regulates commerce internationally and domestically. And so we're gonna do everything in our power to make it very clear that we have not imposed 50 per cent tariffs on our democratic allies and friends in Canada."

He hopes to see action on ending the tariffs within the first 100 days of the new Congress. '"We want to tell our democratic allies around the world, especially our best friends like Canada, that the forces of democracy and freedom have won in this Congress, and we are going to [be] moving very quickly to restore normal ties," he said.  

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc noted despite the change in Congress, Trump and his administration remain the people Canada will be negotiating with.  "They remain in office today. And those are the people with whom we'll be having those conversations," he said.

Raskin and other Democrats acknowledged Trump will retain the power to veto any bill passed by Congress. To overturn the veto, Democrats will need the support of at least 13 in the Senate and 51 Republicans in the House, assuming all members are present and voting.

In an election day appearance on Fox News, Trump told Fox News he was close to a deal. Carney said U.S. negotiators are "asking less and offering more," and autos are like to be a point of major contention, as they were in August before talks collapsed and both side imposed new tariffs.

Sen Peter Welch (D-Vt.) urged his party to concentrate on "bread and butter" affordability issues, including ending tariffs. In September, he and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to repeal Trump's 50% tariffs and import bans on Canadian goods.

"We can't force the president to sign the legislation we put on his desk, but we can pass it in good faith. And then if he signs it, great. America wins," Welch told CBC's Power & Politics. "If he vetoes it, then America knows. So we've got to be purposeful, do things that really matter for everybody, not just Democrats."

It was failing to do things that mattered for all Americans that cost Republicans control of Congress and gave Democrats five new governorships, for a total of 29, a majority for the first time in years.

For more analysis on the election:

The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
The Washington Post
The San Francisco Chronicle