Trump’s tariffs can be beneficial in the long term, but Congress needs a more active role, says top GOP lawmaker

(Credit: Anna Rose Layden—Getty Images)

As President Trump enacts his sweeping effort to reshape the U.S. economy, Arkansas congressman French Hill will play a pivotal role in advancing that agenda as chair of the influential House Financial Services Committee. The role is a prestigious one but fraught. Hill must help congressional Republicans navigate the economic fallout of Trump’s massive tariffs, which have put the U.S. on the brink of a recession—while also reconciling the president’s bruising protectionism with his own lifelong commitment to free trade.

In an interview with Fortune from his office in the Longworth House Office Building last Tuesday, the day before Trump announced a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariff program, Hill described the president’s aggressive strategy as “challenging in a communications point of view.”