John Kennedy Grills Howard Lutnick About Law Used By Trump To Impose Tariffs

At Wednesday's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Transcript

00:00Um, tell me your understanding of the Trade Expansion Act.

00:09I don't have a really good understanding of the term.

00:12I may know the act, but I may not know its title.

00:15You know, you're not familiar with the Trade Expansion Act of 1962

00:19that gives the president almost unlimited authority to impose tariffs

00:24so long as you conduct an investigation.

00:27You don't know about that?

00:28Oh, my 232s, of course.

00:30Okay.

00:30Sorry, I just didn't know the title of the plan, but of course I know.

00:33Why didn't you advise the White House, instead of proceeding under other statutes,

00:42why didn't you advise the White House to proceed under the Trade Expansion Act?

00:48The president chose IEPA because he could do it swiftly

00:53and he could do it sweeping in order to address the underlying problems

00:58that it created the $1.2 trillion trade deficit that was haunting the United States of America.

01:04Have you read the opinion in, um, um, VOS selections, VUS?

01:09I have.

01:10What role does the major questions doctrine play in that decision?

01:15I am not a lawyer, so I can't speak to it with that kind of precision.

01:19That's a litigation that's under current investigation.

01:22Are you familiar with the major questions doctrine?

01:26Not offhand, but I did, of course, read the decision.

01:30Well, about three-quarters of the opinion is on the major questions doctrine.

01:35Again, I, I tend to not know the title, I know that the topic and the details of it,

01:41but I, I tend not to focus on titles.

01:43Sorry.

01:44I'm way over.

01:46Thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Chairman.

01:48Senator Kennedy, thank you.

01:49Senator Shahid.

01:51Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here today.

01:55Thank you, Mr. Chairman.