In 2025, President Trump’s tariff agenda led to an average tax increase of$1,100 per household – the steepest U.S. tax increase since the 1990s. American businesses are trapped in this chaotic policy and must choose between shrinking profit margins or passing the costs onto already hard-pressed consumers.

Despite the clear and growing economic impact of Trump’s tariffs, the political response has been fractured and lackluster. We have seen occasional flashes of bipartisan courage, with leaders like Senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell breaking ranks to challenge this overreach, but too many in the GOP lack the courage to cross this administration. At the same time, many Democrats are still struggling to offer a strong message against tariffs that comes across as genuine when so many have protectionist pasts.

Right now, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Supreme Court will soon decide if the President can use the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs, and the White House just announced a 10% tariff on eight European nations as a pressure tactic to force the sale of Greenland to the United States. Regardless of the court’s decision, the U.S. Senate must not abdicate its responsibility as the Executive Branch violates the separation of powers, and it must work to restore it’s rightful congressional authority over trade.

Our Senate Tariff Response Index evaluates every member of the U.S. Senate across a few core pillars: their prior record on trade issues, their voting record on trade issues under the current administration, and their overall messaging, leadership, and stances against Trump’s tariff agenda.

Special thanks to Ed Gresser, Rebecca Smith, Max Kaplan, and everyone else who assisted in the creation of this index.

Our Criteria

**A+: **Among Congress’s strongest leaders on promoting trade liberalization.

A: Actively sponsored or co-sponsored pro-free-trade legislation; consistently opposed tariff expansions.

B: Publicly supported free trade or opposed tariffs consistently without substantial legislative leadership.

C: Neutral or mixed record; limited actions or statements.

D: Supported selective or occasional protectionist measures or tariffs. Opposed free trade agreements.

F: Actively supported broad tariffs, opposed trade liberalization, or endorsed protectionist policies.

Pass: Explicitly supports restoring or affirming Congressional authority over tariff policy. Examples include sponsoring or endorsing relevant legislation or clearly stating that Congress should control tariff decisions.

Fail: No explicit support, silence, or opposition to Congressional oversight.

**(A+) **Voted to pass resolution, and met one or more of the following criteria:

Was a cosponsor or lead sponsor on the resolution

Went above and beyond to support the resolution in a floor speech, or other form of public messaging.

(A) voted to pass a resolution terminating tariffs

**(F) **Voted against the resolution

**(A+) **Voted to pass resolution, and met one or more of the following criteria:

Was a cosponsor or lead sponsor on the resolution

Went above and beyond to support the resolution in a floor speech, or other form of public messaging.

(A) voted to pass a resolution terminating tariffs

**(F) **Voted against the resolution

**(A+) **Voted to pass resolution, and met one or more of the following criteria:

Was a cosponsor or lead sponsor on the resolution

Went above and beyond to support the resolution in a floor speech, or other form of public messaging.

(A) voted to pass a resolution terminating tariffs

**(F) **Voted against the resolution

A: Explicitly criticizes the use of Section 301 and 232 tariffs on specific products such as steel and aluminum. Demonstrates a clear understanding of their economic harms and calls for their removal or reform. May propose legislative remedies or oversight.

B: Publicly expresses opposition to Section 301/232 tariffs in general terms or highlights harms to specific industries or consumers but without proposing specific changes.

C: Acknowledges issues with these tariffs or expresses concern about downstream effects but stops short of opposing them outright.

D: Avoids comment or remains vague, despite a relevant committee position or affected constituency.

F: Supports the tariffs as necessary for national security or economic leverage. Opposes efforts to repeal or reform them

**(A+) **A Senator who receives an A+ has demonstrated clear public leadership, beyond voting, on at least 6 of the following criteria:

Calls Trump’s tariffs a tax

Offers a unique take on how tariffs are harmful to their state, or the American people

Strong, detailed condemnation of the tariffs on Canada

Strong, detailed condemnation of the tariffs on Mexico

Strong, detailed condemnation of the 4/2 Global Tariffs

Consistently opposes tariffs as a legitimate policy tool except in truly extreme or emergency circumstances (e.g., sanctions, wartime).

Is clear that tariffs are harmful, regressive, and easily abused.

Is a lead sponsor on legislation to end Trump’s tariffs or restore congressional authority over tariffs.

**(A) **A Senator who receives an A has demonstrated clear public leadership, beyond voting, on at least 5 criteria for an A+.

**(B) **A Senator who receives a B has demonstrated strong opposition to Trump’s tariffs, while not being an outspoken leader. A Senator with a B grade might also be someone who has demonstrated strong opposition to Trump’s tariffs, but has weak messaging, due to their support for some strategic tariffs.

**(C) **A Senator who receives a C has demonstrated weak opposition or leadership against Trump’s tariffs in their public messaging, but still has advocated against Trump’s tariffs. A Senator who has been supportive of most of Trump’s tariffs, but has advocated against tariffs that harm industries in their state, might be considered for a C grade.

**(D) **A Senator who receives a D has done or said nothing about Trump’s tariffs, and even hinted at support for them.

(F) This senator has been outright supportive of Trump’s trade policy agenda in their public messaging. They likely embrace tariffs as a central element of trade or economic strategy. Favors broad or permanent tariffs as good economic policy.

FAQs

We collected our data for the index by searching news clippings, official government websites, campaign websites, social media, including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, for mentions of tariffs, trade and more.

After collecting data for each member, we used our criteria listed above to evaluate the appropriate grade for each category.

We’re a small team, and it took us a while for us to build the dataset we used for this index. It’s entirely possible we missed something, so please reach out to hello@cnliberalism.org if you think we should update a grade.