February 7

This week in MORE POWER:

Tariff Tug-of-War
Confirmations on Confirmations
Halting Fentanyl
Fighting Fire
Fricking Fracktastic

Tariff Tug-of-War

President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which grants presidents broad economic powers in response to “unusual” and “extraordinary” threats coming from outside the U.S, and signed an executive order, placing a 25% tariff on imports coming from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% tariff on imports from China. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. Economists from both sides of the aisle have pointed out that the tariffs will probably increase costs for American consumers, as producers pass off costs to buyers.

Soon after Trump’s announcement, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that their governments would be countering with tariffs of their own on U.S. imports. Sheinbaum and Trump spoke on Monday, ahead of Trump’s tariffs going into effect. She promised to send Mexican troops to the border to prevent drug trafficking, while Trump promised to prevent the flow of American firearms into Mexico. Trump has delayed the tariffs on Mexican imports by 30 days. Trump then spoke with Trudeau and delayed the tariffs on Canadian imports by 30 days as well. Trump claims Canada agreed to tougher border security during negotiations; however, Canada had already passed a bill cracking down on both border security and illicit substances in December. The 10% tariff on Chinese imports has gone into effect. China’s retaliatory tariffs of 15% on U.S. coal and natural gas and 10% on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large cars, and pickup trucks will take effect on Feb. 10.

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Confirmations on Confirmations

This week, the Senate continued with the confirmation process for President Trump’s nominees: they confirmed Pam Bondi as the U.S. attorney general, which runs the Department of Justice; Scott Turner to be the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Doug Collins to be the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Chris Wright to be secretary of the Department of Energy; and Russ Vought to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Some of these nominees were regarded as especially controversial in the Senate, like Pam Bondi and Russ Vought. All the Senate Democrats except for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) voted against Bondi due, in part, to her belief in 2020 election conspiracies. Vought had an even slimmer majority because of his work on Project 2025, a policy plan created by conservative groups to reshape the federal government.

So far, the Senate has approved 13 of Trump’s nominees in the first three weeks of his new term; this is, according to Punchbowl News, a faster pace than during the same period in his first term or under Biden.

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Halting Fentanyl

The House passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which would permanently classify fentanyl and all fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. This means any substance structurally similar to fentanyl would be automatically controlled unless specifically exempted or listed in another schedule. Right now, these substances are classified as Schedule I, but this classification is temporary. Supporters say this bill would help law enforcement crack down on fentanyl trafficking while critics worry it could lead to overly harsh drug sentences. Now, this bill is going to the Senate.

Fighting Fire

The House passed a bill that would require the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to evaluate the effectiveness of the Container Aerial Firefighting System (CAFFS), which fly over wildfires and pump out either water or fire retardant from their containers, for wildfire suppression. The bill, called the Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act, would also require the results of the evaluation to be reported to relevant congressional committees. The evaluation and report must be done in consultation with the National Interagency Aviation Committee and the Interagency Airtanker Board. This bill is now headed to the Senate.

Climate Confirmations

The House passed the Protecting American Energy Production Act today. If made law, this bill would prevent presidents from unilaterally banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) unless Congress specifically passes a law to allow such a ban. Additionally, it expresses that Congress believes states should have primary authority over regulating fracking on state and private lands, rather than the federal government. This bill is on its way to the Senate.

Fracking is a method of extracting oil and natural gas by injecting fluid into underground rock formations to release energy resources. Supporters argue that it boosts domestic energy production and creates jobs, while critics raise concerns about its environmental impact, including potential water contamination and increased seismic activity.