Ex US NSA John Bolton Advises Democrats to Target Trump's Trade Policies Through Congress Despite Potential Veto

Washington: Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has urged Democrats to use their newly won majority in Congress to pass legislation repealing all of President Donald Trump’s trade measures enacted since taking office, arguing that tariff disputes have overshadowed crucial US-India security cooperation.

Speaking with ANI on the impact of the Democratic-controlled Congress on the Trump administration's India policy, Bolton suggested that Democrats take direct legislative action as soon as the new Congress convenes.

"If the Democrats were smart, they would introduce a bill in January, when they take office, stating that all of Trump's trade measures enacted since he was sworn in on January 20, 2025, are hereby repealed," Bolton said. "I think they could pass that through both houses. They probably could not override a Trump veto, but they would put the tariff issue very starkly. I think tariffs worked in the Democrats' favour, and they would do well to make it an issue."

Bolton emphasised that the ongoing conflict over trade policies has come at a high strategic cost, pulling attention away from shared US-India security priorities in the Indo-Pacific.

"I think the tragedy is that a lot of important issues that the US and India have in common, concerns about security with respect to China, have been lost in the shuffle while we've been arguing about these tariff issues," he said.

Addressing the broader legislative environment following the midterm elections, Bolton noted that while a Democratic Congress will challenge the White House on international affairs, full policy reversals remain difficult under the US system.

"Now, with Congress controlled by the Democrats, what comes next is quite likely to be a period of gridlock, probably for the next two years, in terms of any significant legislation or new domestic policies," Bolton explained. "Instead, we'll see a lot of political trench warfare and debate about what's coming next in 2028, as both parties begin to focus on that. We obviously don't have a parliamentary system in the United States. So, while the Democrats can cause a lot of trouble for Trump, especially in terms of criticism on international issues, it's very hard for them to actually force him to do something that he doesn't want to do."

Earlier, Trump had shared an image on Truth Social featuring a red baseball cap bearing the word “VETO”. He subsequently told Fox News that the presidential veto was among the strongest powers available to the US President.

“It's been done before, as you know, numerous times. It's the power of veto — it's one of the stronger powers that a President has. They'll send over things that are insane and I'll veto them,” Trump said.

The Democratic victory has significantly altered the balance of power in Washington, with the party gaining control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The shift is expected to increase congressional scrutiny of Trump's administration through investigations, hearings and subpoenas, while Democrats could also seek to block his judicial and Cabinet nominees.

Meanwhile, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna described the electoral outcome as a major repudiation of Trump and predicted that Democrats could secure a substantial House majority.

“It's going to be over 250 seats. We may get as big a majority as we had under Obama in 2008. This is a tsunami. It is a repudiation of Trump,” Khanna said.

He added that voters were primarily concerned about the rising cost of living and the ongoing war, stressing that Democrats would focus on reducing expenses related to healthcare, childcare and essential commodities.

While Trump has signalled that he is prepared to use his veto authority against legislation he opposes, he has also indicated that he does not want the next two years to be dominated by political confrontation.“I don't want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything,” he told Politico.

Under Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, the President can reject legislation passed by Congress. Lawmakers can override a regular presidential veto, but only with a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate.

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