White House says tariffs stay and it is 'just getting started' a week after the midterms

The White House said Tuesday it will keep its tariffs in place. That came one week after voters punished Republicans over rising prices in the Nov. 3 midterm elections ¹. Tariffs are taxes paid on imported goods.

Jim Goyer, director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, spoke at the B20 summit in Washington. The B20 is a gathering of global business leaders hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He defended tariffs as a way to rebuild U.S. manufacturing, secure supply chains and protect national security ¹.

And we are just getting started,

Later that day, Gary Cohn gave a sharply different view. Cohn was Trump's chief economic adviser in his first term and is now vice chairman of IBM. He said the duties are raising prices and forcing Americans to rethink what they buy ¹.

Tariffs are a consumption tax on the U.S. consumer,

What the numbers show

Roughly two-thirds of voters said Trump's policies contributed to inflation, according to the CNBC Voter Poll. Nearly nine in 10 said the cost of living was a major or crucial factor in their vote ¹.

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A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found 62% of Americans supported repealing Trump's tariffs. Only 21% approved of his handling of the cost of living ¹.

New government data also showed consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than economists expected ¹². Annual inflation reached 3.7% in September, the latest year-over-year figure available. The Federal Reserve's target is 2% ¹.

Tariffs are not the only cause. The war with Iran has pushed energy costs sharply higher, and housing and health-care costs also strain budgets ¹. Still, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York study estimated that about 26% of tariff increases were passed through to consumer prices. Some effects take nine to 12 months to work through supply chains ¹.

Not every business leader agreed with Cohn. Jim Fitterling, executive chairman of chemicals giant Dow, acknowledged that tariffs can drive up prices. He argued they are needed to fight unfair competition and protect U.S. manufacturing ¹.

What happens next

Democrats plan to challenge the tariffs when they take control of Congress in January. Trump's veto power and broad trade authority could make the duties hard to overturn ¹.

Cohn saw room for a deal. He suggested Trump and the incoming Democratic Congress could make protections against China and unfair trade practices permanent. In exchange, they could roll back tariffs on Canada ¹.

Fed officials worry that the effects of tariffs and the Iran war are becoming embedded in the economy. Markets expect the Fed to raise interest rates by a quarter point at its Dec. 8-9 meeting ². That matters for retirees because higher rates can raise borrowing costs. They can also lift what savings accounts pay.

That matters because the White House is promising more of a policy that most voters in these polls say they want repealed. The pattern is a tariff plan that officials say is working, and household budgets that say otherwise.

The Record

1. Nov 3, 2026Midterm voters cite the cost of living as a major factor; about two-thirds say Trump's policies contributed to inflation ¹.
2. Nov 10, 2026White House official Jim Goyer says the tariff push will continue for the rest of Trump's term ¹.
3. Nov 10, 2026Government data show consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% forecast ².

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<h2>White House says tariffs stay and it is &#39;just getting started&#39; a week after the midterms</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Kitchen-Table Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/white-house-says-tariffs-stay-and-it-is-just-getting-started-a-week-after-the-midterms">The GOP Files</a> on Tuesday, November 10, 2026.</em></p> <p>The White House said Tuesday it will keep its tariffs in place. That came one week after voters punished Republicans over rising prices in the Nov. 3 midterm elections . Tariffs are taxes paid on imported goods.</p> <p>Jim Goyer, director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, spoke at the B20 summit in Washington. The B20 is a gathering of global business leaders hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He defended tariffs as a way to rebuild U.S. manufacturing, secure supply chains and protect national security .</p> <blockquote><p>And we are just getting started,</p><p>&mdash; Jim Goyer, Director, White House Office of Public Liaison</p></blockquote> <p>Later that day, Gary Cohn gave a sharply different view. Cohn was Trump&#39;s chief economic adviser in his first term and is now vice chairman of IBM. He said the duties are raising prices and forcing Americans to rethink what they buy .</p> <blockquote><p>Tariffs are a consumption tax on the U.S. consumer,</p><p>&mdash; Gary Cohn, Vice chairman of IBM; Trump&#39;s chief economic adviser in his first term</p></blockquote> <h2>What the numbers show</h2> <p>Roughly two-thirds of voters said Trump&#39;s policies contributed to inflation, according to the CNBC Voter Poll. Nearly nine in 10 said the cost of living was a major or crucial factor in their vote .</p> <p>A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found 62% of Americans supported repealing Trump&#39;s tariffs. Only 21% approved of his handling of the cost of living .</p> <p>New government data also showed consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than economists expected . Annual inflation reached 3.7% in September, the latest year-over-year figure available. The Federal Reserve&#39;s target is 2% .</p> <p>Tariffs are not the only cause. The war with Iran has pushed energy costs sharply higher, and housing and health-care costs also strain budgets . Still, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York study estimated that about 26% of tariff increases were passed through to consumer prices. Some effects take nine to 12 months to work through supply chains .</p> <p>Not every business leader agreed with Cohn. Jim Fitterling, executive chairman of chemicals giant Dow, acknowledged that tariffs can drive up prices. He argued they are needed to fight unfair competition and protect U.S. manufacturing .</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>Democrats plan to challenge the tariffs when they take control of Congress in January. Trump&#39;s veto power and broad trade authority could make the duties hard to overturn .</p> <p>Cohn saw room for a deal. He suggested Trump and the incoming Democratic Congress could make protections against China and unfair trade practices permanent. In exchange, they could roll back tariffs on Canada .</p> <p>Fed officials worry that the effects of tariffs and the Iran war are becoming embedded in the economy. Markets expect the Fed to raise interest rates by a quarter point at its Dec. 8-9 meeting . That matters for retirees because higher rates can raise borrowing costs. They can also lift what savings accounts pay.</p> <p>That matters because the White House is promising more of a policy that most voters in these polls say they want repealed. The pattern is a tariff plan that officials say is working, and household budgets that say otherwise.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/white-house-says-tariffs-stay-and-it-is-just-getting-started-a-week-after-the-midterms">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/white-house-says-tariffs-stay-and-it-is-just-getting-started-a-week-after-the-midterms.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. CNBC, “White House vows to press ahead with tariffs despite midterm backlash over rising prices” (2026-11-10). cnbc.com/2026/11/10/trump-tariffs-midterms-gary-cohn-inflati
2. CNBC, “Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than expected, complicating Fed's inflation fight” (2026-11-10). cnbc.com/2026/11/10/cpi-inflation-report-october-2026.html

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