Sen. Chuck Schumer Friday blamed President Trump’s chaotic campaign of tariffs and trade wars for causing economic uncertainty and a poor monthly jobs report.
With new signs that the labor market is sputtering, the Democratic minority leader vowed to “force votes” on rolling back the president’s mercurial trade war, which he calls a harmful tax increase on American consumers.
“Donald Trump’s chaotic tariffs, failed policies, and fake trade deals have strangled job growth and continually raised prices on American families,” Schumer tweeted. “The pressure is pushing working families closer to the breaking point.”
“Trump is squeezing the life out of our economy,” Schumer added.
Republicans control both houses of Congress so it’s unclear how Schumer might succeed in forcing votes on Trump’s tariffs, which are starting to cause price increases for consumers.
A federal appeals court this week dealt a blow to the import taxes by ruling that Trump did not have the legal right to impose them without congressional approval by declaring an ecomomic “emergency” over trade.
The jobs report showed American employers added just 22,000 jobs in August and the June report was revised down to show the economy actually lost jobs for the first month since the pandemic.
The new data shows unemployment at a five-year high of 4.3% and only 100,000 jobs created during the past four months, a clear slowdown after years of solid growth.
Trump didn’t comment directly on the poor jobs report. He instead focused on the possibility that the anemic job market might spur Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell to cut interest rates at the central bank’s upcoming meeting.
“Powell should have lowered rates long ago. As usual, he’s ‘too late!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The jobs report came after Trump fired the previous chief of the government organization that compiles the figures, accusing her of cooking the books to make him look bad.
Trump’s stewardship of the economy and especially his plan for costly tariffs are increasingly getting poor marks from the American public.
Polls show Trump’s approval rating around 40% and his handling of the economy and inflation way underwater as well, a sign that Republicans could face a rebellion at the ballot box in the 2026 midterm elections.
