A House Democrat representing one of the most pro-Trump districts in the country has become one of President Donald Trump’s strongest allies on tariff policy. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who has repeatedly won tightly contested races in a district Trump carried by nine points last November, is vocally backing the president—putting him to the right of several anti-Trump Republicans who have introduced legislation to curb the commander-in-chief’s authority to impose tariffs.
Instead, Golden is urging the president to stay the course and ignore the critics. “I’m pleased the president is building his tariff agenda on the foundation of a universal 10 percent tariff like the one I proposed in the BUILT USA Act. This ring fence around the American economy is a good start to erasing our unsustainable trade deficits,” Golden said when Trump slapped tariffs on dozens of trading partners on April 2.
“I’m eager to work with the president to fix the broken ‘free trade’ system that made multinational corporations rich but ruined manufacturing communities across the country. But tariffs must be paired with policies that prioritize American families’ prosperity,” the Democratic congressman added, noting further that he would like to see an economic policy that benefits working class Americans.
“We need to make sure that the new approach benefits working people — that means supporting unions, the trades and apprenticeship programs, cutting regulations that hold back production, unleashing American energy and using tariff revenue to support domestic manufacturers that create good-paying jobs for Americans. It’s also time to renegotiate trade deals like the USMCA to support the Americans who are ready to ramp up production and support the rebuilding of our middle class — like the sawmills, processing plants, fishermen and farmers in the communities I represent, Golden continued. “Tariffs are a first step in rewriting a rigged trade system, but they cannot be the last one.”
Golden, who introduced legislation to put a 10 percent tariff on all goods entering the United States, went on to deliver a stern warning to his party. “The world is changing, and some Democrats haven’t quite caught up to that fact.” Golden’s support underscores the unusual political alliances forming around the Trump administration’s sweeping trade reforms. A number of Republican senators—including Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Todd Young (R-IN), and Jerry Moran (R-KS)—have introduced legislation that would require congressional approval before the president could impose new tariffs.