House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked at a press conference on Wednesday if he will block any vote that challenges President Trump’s tariffs. Johnson replied: “I have no intention of getting in the way of President Trump and his administration.” Johnson further contended that Trump “has used the tariff power that he has under Article II very effectively. He has not exceeded his authority. There is no reason in my view for the Article I branch to intervene in that.”
Conservative economist and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Jessica Riedl, responded to Johnson’s claim by writing on social media: “1) There is no such thing as Article II tariff power in the Constitution. It doesn’t exist. 2) Why even have a Congress at this point? We’re paying a parliament of pundits $7 billion annually to go on TV and explain how they refuse to do their jobs as laid out in the Constitution.”
1) There is no such thing as Article II tariff power in the Constitution. It doesn’t exist.
2) Why even have a Congress at this point? We’re paying a parliament of pundits $7 billion annually to go on TV and explain how they refuse to do their jobs as laid out in the… https://t.co/ZLnMD1h28L
— Jessica Riedl
(@JessicaBRiedl) January 21, 2026
Riedl added, using data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: “Moreover, Speaker Johnson’s claim that the tariffs have already brought in $10 trillion in foreign investment is absurd. The U.S. typically brings in $150 billion to $350 billion annually, and a $10 trillion infusion would’ve added 30% to the GDP. Come on.”
(Note: The highest annual U.S. GDP growth rate occurred in 1942, with an increase of 18.9% due to industrial mobilization for World War II. 2021 saw the highest increase in recent times, with real GDP bouncing from a COVID retraction up to 5.5% according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Other sources place the 2021 figure at closer to 5.8%.)
Moreover, Speaker Johnson’s claim that the tariffs have already brought in $10 trillion in foreign investment is absurd.
The U.S. typically brings in $150 billion to $350 billion annually, and a $10 trillion infusion would’ve added 30% to the GDP. Come on. pic.twitter.com/GrsOiiqXwD
— Jessica Riedl
(@JessicaBRiedl) January 21, 2026
Reason reporter Eric Boehm replied to Riedl: “The ‘Article II’ line is great, but I think my favorite part of this is when he says that he doesn’t think there is any need to intervene — when, actually, the way you determine that is by holding a vote in Congress, which is THE EXACT THING he has been prohibiting.”