Sen. Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyGOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power The Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose Top GOP senators say Hunter Biden's work 'cast a shadow' over Obama Ukraine policy MORE (R-Iowa) sounded off on President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE's use of executive authority on tariff action on Tuesday, accusing Congress of improperly giving up its power to the White House.

During a call with reporters first reported by Politico, the Iowa senator and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said tariff actions should be decided by elected lawmakers in Congress rather than by the president's fiat.

"It adds up to something pretty simple: Congress has delegated too much authority to the president of the United States," he said, according to Politico.

"There’s absolutely no constitutional crisis that this president or any other president has created," Grassley reportedly continued. "The constitutional crisis comes from the elected representatives of the people over the last 80 years making a dictator out of the presidency."

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Grassley went on to state that "a lot" of progress had been made on a bill he is working on to strip the executive branch of some tariff authority.

“You can imagine how the president feels about tariffs,” he reportedly said. “He may not look favorably on this, so I want a very strong vote in my committee and then, in turn, a very strong vote on the floor of the Senate.”

“This is not about Trump. It’s about the balancing of power,” Grassley added, according to Politico.

The Iowa lawmaker previously criticized Trump over the president's announcement last week that the U.S. would impose tariffs on Mexico in order to force the Mexican government to act on illegal border crossings, calling it a "misuse" of Trump's authority.

"Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent," Grassley said in a statement last month.

The plan to impose tariffs on Mexico was canceled over the weekend following backlash from Grassley and other Republicans, with Trump claiming to have struck a deal with Mexico's government on the issue but providing no details.