NASHVILLE – U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said an “obviously not pleased” President Donald Trump called him today to ask he not proceed with proposed legislation limiting some of the president’s authority over recently imposed trade tariffs.
But the Tennessee Republican said he plans to move ahead despite that.
“I talked at length with the president about it today,” Corker told reporters in Washington. “He’s obviously not pleased with this effort.”
Corker has raised repeated concerns about Trump’s use of national security provisions to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on some of the U.S.’s closest allies with the prospect of more to come on imports of vehicles and related parts.
The Chattanooga Republican, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described the conversation as “fairly lengthy.” As for whether Trump was objecting to the legislation, Corker replied, “Oh yeah” to reporters, according to an audio clip.