Arizona GOP lawmakers defend Trump’s tariffs, trade policies
The comments were made during business panel
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona’s Republican members of Congress are defending President Trump’s policies, in the face of inflation fears and the Dow Jones losing nearly five thousand points since January.
Several Arizona lawmakers on both side of the aisle, took center stage at the Arizona Biltmore Wednesday to take part in a panel discussion on issues a lot of people are talking about.
The event was hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
The topics included the economy, tariffs, healthcare, immigration, and border security.
Taking the stage first, in front of local business leaders, were Republican Reps. Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Abe Hamadeh and Juan Ciscomani.
They were all asked how they feel about Trump’s tariffs, and they all continue to support what the President is doing. Rep. Biggs said it’s short-term pain for long-term gain.
“What I am seeing is countries from around the world, over 150 nations, have indicated they want to rework trade deals with the U.S. in a bilateral fashion,” said Biggs. “My belief is you’ll see this move to more bilateral arrangements and allow us to monitor better and will lead to better trade overall.”
Arizona’s Family also asked Biggs whether Arizonans should be worried about Congress cutting Medicaid in the federal budget. “President Trump has made it clear, we’re not going to touch benefits,” said Biggs. “We will touch fraud, abuse and waste.”
Republican lawmakers also made clear that they support the president’s immigration policies, but don’t believe federal judges should stand in the way of what the President is doing.
“I do think it’s a little ridiculous to see some of these Federal judges trying to usurp authority of the president of the United States,” said Crane.
The panel discussion was very different when Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego took the stage. They do not support the way the Trump administration is slashing federal agencies and laying off thousands of employees, without any clear reason.
The senators also worry about Trump ignoring the U.S. Supreme Court and deporting people without due process. Both Kelly and Gallego believe the tariffs the president has put in place are hurting hard-working families by driving up the costs of everyday items.
“This tariff policy the White House put in place has been a huge disservice to American consumers and families,” said Kelly. “It attacks people that have to buy stuff, and prices are going to go up and will continue to go up, unless he reverses these policies.”
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