GOP Rep. Justin Amash slams Trump over farm aid: 'Republicans used to oppose bailouts'

One Republican lawmaker is calling President Trump's farm aid just another bailout that his party should not embrace.

Trump on Monday said he would be authorizing a second round of relief for farmers who have been hurt amid the ongoing trade war with China, reports Politico. In response, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) said on Twitter he doesn't understand why his fellow Republicans are supporting this because his party "used to oppose bailouts." Many Republican lawmakers criticized bailouts for the auto industry in 2008, but few have publicly criticized Trump's farm plan. Now, Amash said, the GOP simply calls them "market facilitation payments."

Amash went on to say that Trump's "big-government trade policy" has hurt farmers and ranchers, and now, he's "responding with even bigger government."

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With this second round of spending, Trump will have spent $9.6 billion on relief for farmers, per The Washington Post.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.