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Tariffs have proven to be one economic lever that most Americans can feel — either in their retirement accounts, through the small businesses they own or shop at, and at some point in the near future, in prices of goods they purchase.

It’s been hard to focus on much else this week in Washington, with President Donald Trump’s stunning backtrack on his “Liberation Day” tariff policy Wednesday. And though us in the press have been peppering members of Congress with questions, Republicans’ decision to let Trump do Trump means that there’s not much they can — or are willing — to do other than answer uncomfortable questions (many of which were asked by members of Nevada’s delegation this week).

Let’s get into it.

The News of the Week: Tariff war

The tariff roller coaster took several new sharp turns this week, leaving members of both parties in Congress behind. A quick recap:

Trump announced on April 2 — or “Liberation Day” — that he would be imposing reciprocal tariffs on all nations, calculated using the U.S.’ trade deficit with each nation, bypassing Congress by using his national emergency powers.

The markets then went into free fall, with the biggest single-day loss since 2020. Numerous Republican members of Congress began to express their hesitation about the strategy. As the tariffs took effect Wednesday, triggering a massive sell-off in the bond market, Trump backtracked.

He announced that the reciprocal tariffs would be paused for 90 days, reverting to a 10 percent duty on all imports, but raising the tariff rate on China to 145 percent. 

Throughout this back-and-forth, Nevada’s congressional delegation has mostly been spectators, with the House of Representatives not holding any votes on revoking some executive authority on tariffs. House Republicans actually passed a rule preventing any privileged resolutions to rescind tariffs, neutering Democrats’ ability to force a vote on the issue.

But that doesn’t mean they haven’t gotten into the mix.

The Nevada Angle

With Democrats trying to cut into Republicans’ online ecosystem, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) scored a big win this week in a viral moment of agitation while questioning Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer.

Greer was four hours deep into his testimony before the Ways and Means committee Wednesday when staff informed him that Trump had changed the policy (in one of the “most extraordinary Truth posts”). It meant Horsford was among the first to question him, armed with the new information. 

He told me later that he initially had a set of questions about the travel and tourism industry, but he scrapped those in favor of pressing Greer on whether Trump — who had posted that it was a “great time to buy” shortly before his pause announcement — had manipulated the market.

Horsford, getting increasingly agitated, began to berate Greer over the lack of strategy. Here’s my thread of the entire interaction, but highlights include Horsford saying, “WTF? Who’s in charge?” and, “This is amateur hour, and it needs to stop!”

The full video is worth watching.

Horsford told me that he plans to call for an investigation into whether Republican allies were informed of the pause before it happened and were able to trade on that information. Although the tariffs were paused, he said he’s still concerned about their effects on tourism-heavy Nevada. 

“A number of our major hotels receive specialty products and other goods from all over the world,” he said. “We're trying to keep our economy robust, keep people working, keep small businesses thriving. And the president and this administration's actions are reckless. They're erratic, they're chaotic, and what yesterday's hearing showed is they actually have no strategy on top of it.”

The focus on Nevada’s economy — from the perspective of businesses and for the broader economic health — has been strategically deployed by other members.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) questioned Greer on Tuesday about if the Trump administration had considered the impacts of tariffs on international travel to Las Vegas (which is already declining).

“You haven’t thought about this, and the administration hasn’t really thought about it because I haven’t heard anybody talking about tourism,” she told Greer.

Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) told me she was concerned about the impact on Asian American businesses in her district, as many import products from China and other Asian nations that were slapped with high tariff rates.

And she’s worried it could lead to a recession — which would spell disaster for Nevada.

“The last few days were incredibly chaotic,” Lee said. “Uncertainty affecting potential investment — not to mention concerns of a recession. We know that our economy is particularly susceptible.”

Nevada’s sole congressional Republican, meanwhile, told attendees at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Carson City over the weekend to put off retirement if they can and wait to see Trump’s plan.

“Before you get real committed to wetting the bed over the stock market, maybe you ought to see how things work out over the next month, 60 days, 90 days,” Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) was recorded saying. 

“I think they’ve earned the right to do what they think is right based on their track record.”

The Impact

While Trump’s tariff regime is temporarily pared down from what was announced on “Liberation Day,” the enormous duties on China, 25 percent tariffs on certain goods from Canada and Mexico and the across-the-board 10 percent tax are still driving market volatility.

Uncertainty is a dirty word in business and in Nevada economics — and something officials will be monitoring closely in Washington, in Las Vegas and in Carson City.

At a Wednesday press conference in Carson City, state Treasurer Zach Conine worried that the tariffs may necessitate Nevada dipping into its rainy day fund, accessible only if the state experiences a 5 percent decline in revenue or the governor declares an emergency.

“They are putting more than 27 percent of Nevada's budget at risk,” Conine, a Democrat, said. “And the Trump administration increases inflationary pressures, they will keep interest rates high, which will make Nevada's housing crisis even worse for everyone.”

Around the Capitol

⛰️Back to the drawing board for BLM — Bureau of Land Management director nominee Kathleen Sgamma was set to have a hearing Thursday before she abruptly withdrew her nomination.

The reason? Sgamma, an oil and gas industry leader, criticized Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection, writing in a memo that she was “disgusted by the violence witnessed yesterday and President Trump’s role in spreading misinformation that incited it.”

⛏️MRCA through committee — The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act — sponsored by Cortez Masto in the Senate and Amodei in the House — passed through the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, making it eligible for a vote on the Senate floor.

The final vote was 14-6, with all Republicans and Cortez Masto, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) in support.

What I’m Reading

Time: Sen. Jacky Rosen: Democrats are starting to find their footing

Rosen got pretty candid about Democratic losses in ‘24, saying Democratic messaging on inflation “made our party … seem out of touch.”

The Nevada Independent: Why are Canadians staying away from Las Vegas? ‘Friends shouldn’t be treated like this’

When national pride trumps that trip to Vegas.

The Daily Beast: Furious Dem asks Trump Trade Rep ‘WTF’ as Tariffs Get Pulled

Steven “Furious Dem” Horsford got a lot of attention from the Capitol Hill press corps this week.

Notable and Quotable

“These tariffs, whether they're 10 percent or whatever he decides tomorrow, end up having an impact on people's pocket money.”

— Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) in a Wednesday interview on future tariff uncertainty

Vote of the Week

H.Con.Res.14 — On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment: Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034

Budget reconciliation has officially been unlocked with this vote, with Republican leaders pledging to cut at least $1.5 trillion in government spending.

AMODEI: Yes

HORSFORD: No

LEE: No

TITUS: No