President Donald Trump would veto a bipartisan Senate bill that would give Congress more power over tariffs if it reaches his desk, the White House said on April 7, warning the legislation would weaken the chief executive’s ability to respond to foreign threats and protect national security.
The OMB said the bill would limit the president’s ability to impose new tariffs by requiring congressional approval within 60 days and by requiring the administration to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing duties.
“The Administration strongly opposes S. 1272, the Trade Review Act of 2025,” the OMB said. “By requiring Congressional approval for nearly every tariff increase, S. 1272 would severely constrain the President’s ability to use authorities long recognized by Congress and upheld by the courts to respond to national emergencies and foreign threats.”
The legislation was introduced last week by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who say Congress must reassert its constitutional authority over trade. Cantwell, speaking on the Senate floor, said the bill is intended to ensure a “rules-based” trading system and prevent abrupt tariff policies that could destabilize markets.
“We cannot have arbitrary policies create chaos and uncertainty,” Cantwell said. “These kinds of chaos and uncertainty kill business investment and make for very challenging stock market assessments of investments for the future based on predictability.”
Cantwell likened the measure to the War Powers Act of 1973, describing it as a necessary check on presidential overreach in matters that directly affect the U.S. economy.
She said that recent tariffs targeting a broad swath of trading partners risk undermining longstanding global alliances and trade agreements that benefit U.S. exporters and manufacturers.
“Trade wars have lasting consequences,” she said. “Trade wars devastate American working families and small businesses and manufacturers.”
The White House pushed back on that characterization, describing tariffs as a core tool in Trump’s broader trade policy, which it says is focused on opening new markets, strengthening domestic industry, and ensuring supply chain security.
“The Trump Administration is enacting policies to put America First on trade by opening new market access for U.S. farmers, raising wages for American workers, pursuing reciprocal trade, and reshoring the manufacturing essential to our national security,” the OMB said. “Tariffs are a critical component of that policy, and this legislation runs contrary to those aims.”
The administration warned that the bill would reduce the flexibility and speed required to respond to foreign economic actions, and said that forcing the president to seek congressional approval for tariff actions would weaken U.S. leverage in trade negotiations.
“S. 1272 eliminates leverage over foreign trading partners, inhibits reshoring and supply chain resilience, fosters market uncertainty, and introduces procedural micromanagement that reduces the energy and dispatch required by the President to effectively guarantee the nation’s security,” the statement said.
Cantwell, however, said that modern global competition—especially in advanced technologies—requires stability and predictability for U.S. businesses to succeed.
“We can’t afford a trade war that lasts for two or three years, leaving our product off the shelves,” she said.
“I’ve long expressed my view that congress has delegated too much authority on trade to the executive branch under Republican & Democrat presidents,” he said.
Some Republicans have indicated explicit unease with parts of Trump’s tariff plans.
“I would have expected more targeted tariffs to meet the needs of where countries are taking advantage of us, and perhaps a more modest approach in the amounts,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kans.) told reporters.
The bill has bipartisan backing in the Senate—Moran and fellow Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Thomas Tillis (R-N.C.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are cosponsors. However, it faces a much more difficult trek in the House of Representatives.
