Gov't Shutdown Looms with Tariff War Set to Begin; New Canadian Leader Says 'Canada Will Win'
House Republican leaders are hoping to head off a government shutdown on Friday, with a vote scheduled for tomorrow.
The GOP funding proposal, endorsed by President Trump over the weekend, would keep the government running until the end of September while also reducing spending.
Democrats oppose it.
Even if Republicans manage to get it through the House with their razor-thin majority, it faces trouble in the Senate.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) told CBS's Face The Nation, "You don't have 60 votes with the Senate Republicans. So it's going to become a challenge for the Senate Republicans and the Senate Democrats to decide who's going to get blamed for this thing."
Meanwhile, the economy and the stock market face more uncertainty with President Trump warning he could impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber as early as today, after ordering a temporary reprieve on auto tariffs.
He's also not ruling out the possibility of a recession in the U.S. Trump said, "There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. It takes a little time."
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that Trump will win without a recession.
"Anybody who bets against Donald Trump, it's like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn't a winner a year ago. Donald Trump is a winner. He's going to win for the American people. That's just the way it's going to be. There's going to be no recession in America," Lutnick said.
Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) slammed the trade policy. "They are destroying their economy, and they're making it harder and harder for Americans to afford things."
The newly elected leader of Canada's Liberal Party and soon-to-be prime minister Mark Carney was sounding ready for a fight after his victory Sunday.
"He's attacking Canadian families, workers, and businesses, and we cannot let him succeed,d and we won't," Carney said. "In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says that while there are economic reasons for the tariffs, illegal drugs are the main issue.
"It really is about fentanyl. It really is, and I think that the president obviously wants a strong economy, obviously wants better trade deals as well, but this is about fentanyl and what we can do to stop the cartels from partnering with Chinese officials laundering money and bringing a poison into our country," Noem said.
She also pointed out that border crossings under Trump have reached a 25-year low and called on Congress to pass spending bills so the operations can continue.
