Sen. Bob Corker said that the White House's planned penalties on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada and the European Union "feel like something I could have read in a local Caracas newspaper last week, not in America." | Alex Wong/Getty Images Corker targets Trump’s tariff powers

Sen. Bob Corker plans to unveil a measure as soon as Tuesday that would give Congress power to block President Donald Trump's tariffs, opening a GOP rift over how and whether to push back on the White House's trade policy.

The Tennessee Republican's proposal would set up a fast-track process for Congress to sign off on tariffs linked to national security and is picking up steam as he attempts to attach it to the annual defense authorization bill, which is expected to come to the floor later this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday ruled out a stand-alone vote on the legislation but suggested that it could get consideration during the defense debate.


The tariff effort remains a long shot, with McConnell describing it as "contentious," but it still represents a critical test of the GOP's willingness to take on the president.

"There’s a lot of interest in it, for what it's worth," Corker told reporters. "But, you know, doing anything around here is like pushing a major boulder uphill, so we’ll see."

Corker first revealed his plans to try to rein in Trump's purportedly national security-related tariffs on Saturday, tweeting that the White House's planned penalties on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada and the European Union "feel like something I could have read in a local Caracas newspaper last week, not in America."

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McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have both criticized the metals tariffs on U.S. allies in recent days, but it's unclear whether they are prepared to allow a vote on the matter by the GOP-controlled Congress — especially one that would likely draw a presidential veto.

McConnell told reporters Tuesday that "I'm not going to call it up free-standing," but he added that the defense bill "is open for amendment, and we'll see what happens as it moves across the floor."

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), whose influential committee has jurisdiction over trade, told reporters that he wants to examine Corker's proposal more closely "but I like some of the things he's talking about. We just have to see how he's put them together."

Fellow Republicans are "concerned about" the tariffs, Hatch added, and Corker "came off well" when discussing his proposal during a private Republican Conference meeting earlier Tuesday.

But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters earlier this week that tariffs are "primarily an executive branch function, and I don't really see Congress passing and getting a presidential signature on something constraining his authority."

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who supports the tariff legislation, demurred when asked about the level of support within the conference after the GOP meeting.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, though, Corker is likely to win some Democratic backing, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Tuesday. Schumer declined to tell reporters whether he would support the proposal, saying that he had asked Corker to send it to him when they spoke earlier in the day.

Under Corker's proposal, lawmakers would have a 60-day window in which to vet proposed tariffs using Section 232 of a 1962 trade law that Trump has invoked for national security-related penalties, setting up debate and a vote to halt or OK them. The measure would be retroactive for two years, allowing Congress to take aim at already-announced Trump tariffs using Section 232.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced a separate bill that would require congressional approval over trade decision-making, including tariffs, which is also backed by Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Toomey.

Beyond the steel and aluminum tariffs, the Trump administration has started examining a potential 25-percent penalty on automotive imports, citing national security grounds. Corker blasted the decision to use that national security rationale, warning that it could "basically negate realistic trade agreements" going forward.

"When you can just name anything as a national security issue, then basically you undermine the whole trade agreement process," he said.

Corker's proposal would not affect China tariffs that Trump is pursuing using a different section of existing trade law, but a group of GOP senators visited the White House on Tuesday to talk with Trump about Chinese investment in the U.S. That meeting, attended by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Cornyn, dealt with legislation that would overhaul the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which weighs overseas involvement in domestic assets.