David Scott Asks Jerome Powell Point Blank If 'Trump Has Put Forth A Coherent Tariff Policy'

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During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Rep. David Scott (D-GA) questioned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the Trump Administration's tariff polices.

Transcript

00:00Scott for five minutes. Thank you, Chairman. Chairman Powell, to the best of your knowledge,

00:09has President Trump put forward a coherent tariff policy? Is that your opinion?

00:19That is not a judgment for me to make or to discuss.

00:24Well, what do you think?

00:26I mean, you're running our economy. Does the president, in your opinion, does he have a coherent tax tariff policy?

00:40You ought to have an opinion on that. You run our economy. This is your ballywig.

00:47Do you think he's got a good policy? Answer me.

00:52I would never comment on the president of the United States in that way.

00:58All right. Do you think, what do you think our policy should be?

01:10We play no role in either establishing or commenting on tariff policy or fiscal policy, for that matter.

01:18It's not our business. We have a specific mandate. We try to stick to it.

01:22Let me tell you something, Chairman. In my state of Georgia, I got the fastest growing trade group down there.

01:34The Port of Savannah is indeed our nation's fastest growing party.

01:42Party, and it's seen, and it's rising even more.

01:47The cost, the expenses.

01:51Our business community is suffering.

01:55And I want to know what you think of our tariff policy.

02:02What do I tell my people?

02:05What do we tell the American people?

02:08And you're a good man.

02:10I want to know the answer to this question.

02:15I want to know how you feel.

02:18This whole tariff question.

02:20It's a tax increase.

02:23It's running people out of business.

02:26What do you think about that?

02:28Give me some sort of answer.

02:31Do you think anything about our tariff policy?

02:36Don't you feel you have a responsibility here?

02:40Are you afraid of President Donald Trump?

02:45Why don't you deal with this?

02:48Because our economy are suffering in a mighty bad way.

02:55And I've got to represent my constituency.

03:01And they are, let's take Georgia's agricultural sector, mostly pecans and poultry and cotton exports.

03:12They've been hit hard by retaliatory tariffs from key trading partners like China.

03:22Why are you running away from the tariff fight?

03:28Give us some understanding of that.

03:32Honestly, this is just not our role.

03:37We are not an institution that comments on or analyzes decisions that the president makes

03:45or the things that he runs for office on and is elected on and then does.

03:50We don't, that's just completely out of our lane.

03:54It's really inappropriate for me to have any comment on that.

03:57I'm sorry to say, Mr. Scott.

04:01We're having these regional disruptions.

04:06Our economy is in a bad way.

04:10And I want to say, you and the president, you've got to get together on this.

04:19We got pecans in Georgia.

04:22We got peanuts.

04:23We run the biggest group.

04:26We got the fastest growing trade mechanism in the Savannah Port Authority.

04:35We're crushed in Georgia.

04:37My business folks are coming to me on it.

04:42I got to get some answers from you.

04:44What do I tell them that the Fed chairman feels about their experience,

04:54experience in this tariff?

04:58I think we, I think we need to get you and the president together.

05:05Gentlemen, time has expired.

05:07Appreciate the gentleman from Georgia.

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