Sen. Rand Paul weighs in on tariffs, FEMA reform amid looming deadline
The senator says he opposes Trump’s tariffs and is co-sponsoring a bill to simplify disaster relief
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — Kentucky remains in the national spotlight as the debate over tariffs and FEMA reform heats up, with the deadline for a pause on tariffs set to expire Friday.
Former President Donald Trump’s tariff pause is nearing its end, and while many countries have secured trade deals, the United States has yet to finalize agreements with its neighbors to the north and south.
Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said regardless of whether deals are made in time, the impact of tariffs will still be felt in the economy.
“I think what we’re seeing is the deals now, and people who support the tariffs are giddy and excited ‘oh my goodness look at all these deals,’ but I think the ramifications of the deals come a few months from now, as contracts have to readjust,” Paul said. “So if you shop at Walmart, I think it’s 60% of the goods come from China, inevitably within the next couple of months Walmart will have to adjust its prices up,” said Paul.
According to ABC News, Trump has no plans to extend the tariff deadline. Support among Republicans remains mixed. Paul has been an outspoken opponent of the tariff strategy.
“The president thinks tariffs are the best thing since sliced bread,” Paul said. “I kind of agree with the last 100 years of economic learning and economic assessment that tariffs frankly aren’t good for the U.S. economy,” said Paul.
As Kentucky continues recovering from recent natural disasters, Paul is also turning his attention to disaster aid. He has co-sponsored the Disaster Assistance Simplification Act, which aims to ease the burden for Kentuckians applying for federal assistance.
“Each time when we hear from people is that, there’s difficulty with different government agencies communicating that the applications are complicated,” Paul said. “And so as we’ve gone through this, we’ve looked for areas where we can streamline the process and make it easier for people to file for assistance,” said Paul.
Trump has previously called for the elimination of FEMA to address budget concerns. Paul says the proposed legislation may help begin to address funding concerns, but acknowledged it only tackles part of the broader challenge.
