Republicans dismiss White House claim that Trump’s tariffs will pay for his tax bill

Republican senators are rejecting the White House argument that extending President Donald Trump’s tax cuts can be paid for with tariff revenue.

The administration’s notion of offsetting tax cuts with a tax increase via tariffs, paid by U.S. consumers, is a conflicting one that’s complicating the White House’s messaging as it works to win over holdouts.

“Most people don’t believe that,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a staunch opponent of Trump’s tax and spending bill, told the Washington Examiner. “I see no evidence.”

The strategy also fails to assuage skeptical fiscal hawks’ concerns that passing Trump’s sprawling domestic policy measure would add trillions of dollars to the national debt.