Pence speaks in North Carolina against broad Trump tariffs and praises House on tax bill

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Pence speaks in North Carolina against broad Trump tariffs and praises House on tax bill

2025-05-20 03:44 Last Updated At：03:50

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke Monday in North Carolina against the Trump administration’s zealous efforts to impose tariffs on trading partners worldwide — another effort that shows his willingness to split at times with his former boss.

The education arm of Pence’s political advocacy group kicked off in Raleigh a series of events nationwide that was also billed as building support to extend individual income tax reductions enacted by Trump and fellow Republicans in 2017 but set to expire at year’s end.

In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Pence praised congressional Republicans for pushing ahead President Donald Trump’s bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, saying “there should be no higher domestic priority” than making permanent the tax cuts passed in Trump's first term. But much of the meeting focused on Pence and key conservative business leaders in North Carolina opposing Trump’s recent tariff efforts.

Monday’s event marked another step by Pence to try to distinguish himself among the small group of Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize policies sought by the second Trump administration.

Pence and others said protectionism would ultimately harm the U.S. economy in the form of higher prices and employment losses.

“It is ultimately for the most part American consumers that will pay the price of higher tariffs,” Pence said at the event assembled by Pence’s Advancing American Freedom Foundation and the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation.

The massive 1,116-page budget bill, which also contains additional tax breaks that Trump campaigned for in the 2024 election — as well as spending reductions and beefed-up border security — initially failed to pass the House Budget Committee late last week.

A handful of conservatives who voted against the bill want further cuts to Medicaid and green energy tax breaks. House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day. The bill cleared the committee in a rare Sunday night meeting, but Johnson told reporters afterward that negotiations were ongoing.

“I’m encouraged,” Pence told the AP after Monday's event. ”I'm grateful that conservatives in the House have been pressing for more common sense reforms in Medicaid."

Three days ago, Moody’s Ratings mentioned the 2017 tax cuts as it stripped the U.S. government of its top credit rating, citing the inability of policymakers to rein in debt.

Conservatives see the tax cuts as providing fuel for the economy while putting more money in taxpayers' pockets. Democrats say the wealthiest Americans benefit the most from them.

Pence told the AP the larger issue is the unwillingness of politicians to consider “commonsense, compassionate" entitlement reforms for Medicare and Social Security that would address the nation’s nearly $37 trillion of debt and “set us back on a path of fiscal integrity.”

Pence said at the roundtable that he’s proud of Trump’s first-term efforts to use the tariff threat to reach new free-trade agreements with trading partners. And Pence agreed that China is an exception for retaliatory tariffs, citing intellectual property theft and dumping products like steel onto world markets. But Trump’s second-term effort, seeming to make tariffs large and permanent, are very different and misguided, he said.

Trump has said broad tariffs on foreign goods are needed to narrow the gap with taxes other countries place on U.S. goods.

Trump said that countries "have to pay for the right to sell here,” Pence said in recalling first-term conversations. “Any time I’d remind him that actually it’s American importers that pay the tariff, he would look a little annoyed at me from time to time and say, ‘I know how it works.’ And then he’d say, ‘but they have to pay.’”

While the former Indiana governor and U.S. House member refused to break with Trump during their time serving together, the two had a falling out over his refusal to go along with Trump’s efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election. Trump had tried to pressure Pence to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president falsely claimed the vote was marred by fraud.

A 2024 presidential campaign by Pence — and potentially against Trump — ended early. He committed to invigorating Advancing American Freedom by promoting conservative principles as Trump’s brand of populism has taken hold in the GOP.

Pence's group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. And Pence also has spoken in favor of Trump standing with long-standing foreign allies.

Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.