It looks like the tide may be turning.
The GOP-majority Congress that wouldn’t buck the president until you-know-what freezes over seems to be getting a little frosty.
We see it with the support Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker is garnering with his proposal to get a congressional vote on President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
We see it in Tennessee senatorial hopefuls’ responses: As expected, Democrat and former Gov. Phil Bredesen calls the tariffs “troubling,” but even Republican candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn is trying to find a comfortable way to straddle the fence. Blackburn, who until now has tried to wrap herself in Trump, says she’s “not a fan” of the tariffs but calls them “part of a negotiation.” Republican gubernatorial candidate Diane Black still seems to be Velcroing herself to the president.
We see it in Washington with Sen. Mitch McConnell’s ever-so-slight nod to let Corker’s tariff bill get a vote if it’s attached as an amendment to another bill Congress must take a vote on every year. That keeps McConnell off the hook. He won’t have to allow or quash it as a stand-alone bill.