There was lots of shouting and defiance Saturday, as millions of Americans protested at “Hands Off” rallies in Christiansburg, 166su, Lynchburg — and across the commonwealth and the nation.
The protests were conceived against budget-slashing tactics by President Donald Trump that threaten entitlements such as Social Security. But by the time the gatherings occurred, the ‘Trump Plunge’ on Wall Street became yet another reason for voter outrage.
President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington.
The 47th president shocked stock markets Wednesday by announcing worldwide tariffs against all countries except Russia, North Korea, Belarus and Cuba. Then, as Wall Street promptly crashed, Trump flew to Florida to play golf and raise money, like a 21st-century Nero.
The Trump Plunge continued Monday, as the president doubled down on his stupid tariffs.
But the average Virginian can help stanch his trade madness. They can hit the phones and demand Congress take back control of foreign trade by voting in favor of the
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The bill would allow Congress to undo White House-declared tariffs by a simple majority vote in each chamber.
America’s founding fathers clearly put Congress in control of tariffs on foreign trade. That’s indisputable, from the wording in Article I, Sec 8 of the U.S. Constitution: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.”
But the legislative branch has gradually ceded that power to the White House. The Trade Review Act of 2025 would reclaim it for Congress, and prevent further tariff abuse by Trump or any other president.
Here are Capitol Hill numbers Western Virginians should call, ASAP:
- In the Sixth Congressional District, call Rep. Ben Cline, (202) 225-5431.
- In the Ninth Congressional District, call Rep. Morgan Griffith, 202-225-3861.
- In the Fifth Congressional District call Rep. John McGuire, (202) 225-4711.
Reps. Ben Cline, John McGuire, Morgan Griffith
To ensure your message gets through, you should also call the district offices of your congressman. For lawmakers from Western Virginia, those phone numbers are at the end of this column.
The Trade Review Act of 2025 is bipartisan. In the Senate, it was introduced last week by Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, has introduced a companion measure in the House.
Nobody should be surprised that Trump on Monday specifically threatened to veto the legislation if it’s enacted. Trump has suffered from Trade Derangement Syndrome since the 1980s.
That’s why the Trade Review Act of 2025 needs to pass each chamber of Congress by a two-thirds majority, rather than a simple majority. That level of support would make the law veto-proof. And Trump would be powerless to stop it.
Reaching those levels of support in each chamber is not impossible, especially given the fear and loathing roiling Americans right now.
[Note: file footage] SHOTLIST: NEW YORK CITY, US (FEB. 25, 2025) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL) 1. EXTERIOR SHOT OF ENTRANCE OF NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING 2. PEOPLE WALKING ON WALL STREET 3. SIGN ON POLE READING “WALL STREET 4. CLOSE-UP OF DIGITAL TICKER TAPE OVER DOOR OF NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE 5. EXTERIOR SHOT OF ENTRANCE OF NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING (2 SHOTS) 6. US FLAGS WAVING OUTSIDE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING 7. CLOSE-UP OF DIGITAL TICKER TAPE OVER DOOR OF NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE 8. SIGN READING “NYSE, AN ICE EXCHANGE” 9. EXTERIOR SHOT OF NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING 10. PEOPLE OUTSIDE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE NEW YORK CITY, US (JUL. 09, 2024) (ANADOLU – ACCESS ALL) 11. VARIOUS OF SCREENS AND PEOPLE WORKING IN NYSE NEW YORK CITY, US - FEB. 25, 2025: US stocks opened the week significantly down with the S&P 500 entering bear territory as the global trade war continues to wreak havoc on the markets. Last Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of sweeping reciprocal tariffs on over 180 countries, ranging from 10% to 50%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,145.63 points, or 2.99%, to 37,169.23 as of 10.00 am EDT (1400GMT). The S&P 500 was down 107.51 points, or 2.13%, to 4,958.76, entering bear market territory. The Nasdaq composite lost 291.39 points, or 2.04%, to 15,323.27. Last week, US stock markets lost around $6 trillion, while nearly $10 trillion has been wiped from US markets since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration and the Nasdaq composite had already entered bear market territory. Trump on Sunday described tariffs as "medicine” for addressing the country’s trade deficit with many countries. "I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Trump told reporters on Air Force One, saying he was not intentionally trying to engineer a market selloff with his policies. After the tariff announcements, companies with global supply chains and those that are highly dependent on imports plus tech companies saw a sharp decline in shares. As the decline in the shares of companies called the “Magnificent Seven” continued, Amazon's shares fell over 2%, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta's shares fell over 3%, Apple and Nvidia's shares fell over 5%, and Tesla's shares fell over8 %. The VIX volatility index, referred to as the "fear index," jumped to 50.76.
In the Senate, a veto-proof majority is 67 votes. Counting independents, the Democrats currently number 47. So 20 of 53 Republican senators — fewer than two-fifths — would have to break with Trump to repeal the nonsensical tariffs he announced last week.
Including Grassley, seven Republican senators already have indicated support for the Trade Review Act of 2025. Only 13 more Republican senators are needed.
In the House, the gap is wider but hardly impossible to close. The “veto-proof” number in the lower chamber is 291. Democrats currently hold 213 seats (but one is in the hospital) and Republicans have 220 (currently there are two vacancies).
If all non-hospitalized House Democrats vote for the Trade Review Act of 2025, they would need 79 Republicans to join them to ensure Trump couldn’t kill the measure with a veto. We’re not close to that number yet.
That’s why you need to hit the phones today and call the offices of Reps. Ben Cline, Morgan Griffith, John McGuire and others — especially Republicans.
Trump will threaten the future reelections of any GOPers in Congress who buck him on the Trade Review Act of 2025.
And Cline, Griffith and McGuire are keenly aware Trump deposed Rep. Bob Good in 2024, because Good endorsed Ron DeSantis for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
But unlike members of Congress, Trump can’t run for reelection. Which makes him more of a lame duck now than he was then.
And that’s the purpose of flooding House Republicans offices with phone calls. Those lawmakers need to become more afraid of their own constituents — than they are of a second-term president whose power seems to be waning along with his sanity.
So hit the phones — today!
The United States' new tariff policy is unlikely to create many jobs for American workers, but will cause economic slowdown in the country and even the world at large, said Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR) on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs", imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all trading partners and higher rates on certain countries and products. The order took effect Saturday, leaving all imports to the U.S. subject to 10-percent additional tariffs, except as otherwise provided. Trump will also impose an "individualized reciprocal higher tariff" on the countries and regions with which the United States "has the largest trade deficits", according to a White House document. This will take effect on April 9. In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Orlins noted that even if Trump's plan to reinvigorate manufacturing through tariffs is feasible, it still may not be successful in boosting employment because modern factories have become largely automated. "They're going to create some jobs, but it's not going to be a huge number because most of these factories have become automated. I went to a factory the size of a football field and there were probably 10 workers in the whole factory, and the robots would be at the end of the production line," said Orlins. The committee president said the U.S. tariff policy has brought a lot of uncertainties, and the market remains concerned that the imposition of tariffs could lead to a slowdown in the global economy. "It's a time of change. It's a time, as the markets reflect, of some dislocation. We don't know what the effect on the world economy is going to be. It's all projections. It's going to be in a matter of months that we see what would happen. So, the markets are predicting this is going to lead to slowdown globally and slowdown in the United States," he said. SHOTLIST: FILE: Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 1. Various of White House; 2. Various of U.S. Department of Commerce; New York City, USA - April 6, 2025 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Orlins, president, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (partially overlaid with shot 4): "They're going to create some jobs, but it's not going to be a huge number because most of these factories have become automated. I went to a factory the size of a football field and there were probably 10 workers in the whole factory, and the robots would be at the end of the production line."; Racine, Wisconsin State, USA - December 2019 [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Various of workers in farming equipment factory; [SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] FILE: New York City, USA - October 2024 5. Various of buildings, traffic; New York City, USA - April 6, 2025 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Orlins, president, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (starting with shot 5/ending with shot 7): "It's a time of change. It's a time, as the markets reflect, of some dislocation. We don't know what the effect on the world economy is going to be. It's all projections. It's going to be in a matter of months that we see what would happen. So, the markets are predicting this is going to lead to slowdown globally and slowdown in the United States."; FILE: New York City, USA - October 2024 7. Various of port scene, Statue of Liberty. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]
