McConnell says 'most of us hope' Trump’s Mexico tariffs won't take effect

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that there is little support in the Senate for President Trump's tariffs on Mexico, although he would not say whether Republicans will seek to block them.

"There is not much support in my conference for tariffs, that's for sure," McConnell said, The Washington Post reports.

McConnell added that "most of us hope" talks with Mexico go well and that these tariffs will not go into effect, but when asked if Republicans will try to block the tariffs if they do, McConnell simply said that "we're hoping" that doesn't happen.

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This comes following a report that Republican lawmakers are discussing the possibility of blocking Trump from imposing these new Mexico tariffs. Trump announced last week a 5 percent tariff on Mexican imports that he said would take effect on June 10, going up 5 percentage points every month for the following four months unless Mexico takes action to stop undocumented immigrants from crossing the border. But as Republicans line up to oppose these tariffs, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday suggested "we may have enough votes to override a veto."

Speaking about the possibility of Republicans blocking his tariffs, Trump said during a news conference on Tuesday, "I don't think they will do that," The New York Times reports. "I think if they do, it's foolish."