GOP/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. Bob Corker is facing the ire of the White House after forging ahead with his plan to curtail the President’s power on trade. President Donald Trump told the Tennessee Republican in a ‘lengthy’ call Wednesday [6-6-18] to back off legislation to rein in his power to levy huge tariffs on US allies, seeking to head off a confrontation with Republicans in Congress. But the Tennessee Republican told Trump that he planned to press ahead, even as the Senate Foreign Relations chairman acknowledged that some of his colleagues were ‘fearful’ of crossing the President despite their objections to his tariff policy…Corker unveiled legislation Wednesday afternoon that would require lawmakers to approve of trade actions by the President that are done on the grounds of national security. But, Corker’s push could face an even tougher climb in the Senate now that the White House has weighed in…While many Republicans — including GOP leaders — have released blistering statements and worked behind the scenes to encourage Trump to change his mind on enacting steel and aluminum tariffs on US allies in the European Union, Canada and Mexico, Republicans leaders have shown very little appetite to actually defy Trump legislatively in recent days.”
-Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, “Trump angrily tells Republican Sen. Bob Corker to back off trade bill,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 6, 2018 3:48 pm