Trump's 10% blanket tariff has received rare support from House Democrats: “Good”
A moderate Democrat expressed cautious optimism about President Donald Trump's stance on tariffs, which is clearly different from the irritating reactions of most of his party.
D-Maine's Rep. Jared Golden noted in a lengthy statement that he himself had put forward a 10% blanket tariff on U.S. imported blankets earlier this year and said he was glad that Trump's benchmark policy was the same.
“What I can say now is that the president is building his tariff agenda, which is the basis for the universal tariffs I put forward in the U.S. Construction Act. The fence around the U.S. economy is a good start to eradicate our unsustainable trade deficits.”
“I’m eager to work with the President to identify broken 'free trade' systems that make multinational corporations rich nationwide but disrupt manufacturing communities. But tariffs must be combined with policies that prioritize American family prosperity.”
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Democratic Rep. Jared Golden has cautious optimism about President Trump's tariff policy. (Getty Image)
However, he noted that Trump “together with the 10% universal tax, he introduced many new tariff policies” and he needed time to review these policies in detail before measuring them further.
Golden also said the tariffs “must be paired with policies that prioritize American family prosperity.”
“We need to make sure that new approaches benefit workers – which means supporting unions, transactions and apprenticeship programs, reducing delays in production, freeing up U.S. energy and leveraging tariff revenue to support regulations for domestic manufacturers that create high-paying jobs for Americans,” he said.
“Tariffs are the first step to rewrite the manipulation of the trading system, but they can’t be the last one.”
While this is far from a full embrace of Trump’s tariff plan, Golden’s comments are still more optimistic than those of his Democratic lawmakers.
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Trump commented on reciprocity tariffs at an event held in the White House Rose Garden on April 2, 2025. (Getty Image)
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. “I have always said that when strategically used, tariffs are a key tool,” tells Axios. “But the keyword is 'strategic'. I'm worried about the confusion and immediate implementation of these widespread tariffs.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged to force a vote against a new national emergency to justify the 10% blanket tariff.
“I will propose a privileged resolution that forces the national emergency Trump uses to prove these taxes. Republicans can't continue to evade this – now is the time to show whether they support the economic pain Trump has caused to voters,” Meeks said in a statement.
Golden is known to stand out from his party on several key occasions.
Maine's second congressional district representative has been awarded about 10% of its victory in 2024 by Trump.
Rep. Gregory Meeks promised a forced vote to stop Trump's tariffs. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital approached Golden's Office for further comments, but there was no response at press time.
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Trump's The plan involves All blankets imported into the United States are up to 50% tariffs, and those of rivals and allies.
It also introduces some degree of reciprocity tariffs on countries that impose U.S. exports, although in most cases, U.S. interest rates are lower than foreign countries.
“On April 2, 2025, the day with the rebirth of the U.S. industry. America's fate is taken back. This day we start to make America rich again,” Trump said in announcing his plan on Wednesday.
