“I am very supportive of the President’s tariffs,” former West Virginia State Treasurer and current U.S. Representative Riley Moore tells Glenn. In fact, he has introduced a bill to codify Trump’s agenda through Congress. Rep. Moore explains his “US Reciprocal Trade Act” and how it will help American businesses and workers: “The American people and the American worker have been taken for a ride for a very long time…at the end of the day, nobody wants high tariffs. What this president has proven is when you go out here and you reciprocate, you’re going to lower tariffs and get more free trade.”
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Congressman Riley Moore.
Welcome!
How are you, Riley?
RILEY: I'm doing great. Thanks for having me back on.
GLENN: Great. It's good to have you. Do you like being a congressman over a State Treasurer? What do you think so far?
RILEY: Well, so far so good. I wish being around West Virginia. The sane people. In the state of West Virginia. You know, it's something I certainly prayed on a lot, and certainly I need a lot of prayers for God's protection when you're down here. No doubt about it.
GLENN: I know. So you are a guy who understands things as a Treasurer, you understand the economy, et cetera, et cetera.
So tell me what you think about Trump's tariffs, and what he's actually doing.
RILEY: Yeah. So I'm very supportive of the president's tariffs. I've actually introduced -- called it the US reciprocal trade act. And specifically, what the president is trying to do here and what I'm trying to address in my bill. In short, we're being taken for a ride. The American people, and the American worker, have been taken for a ride for a very long time.
Now, what my bill does is it addresses non-tariff trade barriers that are there, so that could be a vat. That could be a regulation. It could be government subsidies. That act like a tariff for our manufacturers to be able to enter into that marketplace.
Right?
A lot of hidden costs in there. Now, the president, what he wants to do is be able to reciprocate with all these countries that have high tariffs. What I want to do is allow to give them more latitude, to be able to reciprocate on these non-tariff areas because at the end of the day, nobody wants high tariffs.
What the president has proven is when you go out here, and you reciprocate. You will lower being tariffs. And you will get more free trade. Everyone who is freaking out about this. Oh, no. This is going to be terrible for the consumer.
This is going to be great for the consumer in the long run. And guess what, it's going to be great for the American worker. And the blue-collar worker. And the same point here --
GLENN: Riley, he is playing, I think five dimensional chess.
I mean, I've not been a fan of tariffs. They generally are not good for the economy. And the free market.
But the reciprocal tariff is just saying, I just want free, fair trade. I don't want any tariff. But if you will raise a tariff. Then I will balance the field by giving you exactly the same tariff.
Now, how do you do that, with that? How does your bill actually make, you know, all the subsidies. For instance, Airbus.
How are you balancing that?
RILEY: Right. So it will allow the USTR, to be able to calculate that, and they will come up with a value, in terms of what that looks like. In a nontariff sense.
Right?
What is that value? What is that -- inhibitor into our entrance into that marketplace. So it gives them latitude over US VR to be able to determine that. We have to be able to have the ability to negotiate on those aspects of that. A tariff. A US automobile in Europe right now. Might be right around 10 percent, but really, it's more like 25 percent. Right?
Because all of these nontariff areas that aren't quite --
GLENN: Is it going to pass? Are you going to be able to get it? There are eight sponsors to this bill.
RILEY: Eight sponsors. I mainly sponsored Marjorie Taylor Greene, her and I worked on this. We will continue to pick up more sponsors, particularly the president has started to lean in on this. And people have to -- everybody knows, Glenn. You are a huge US history expert.
You know this. Just flashback to prerevolutionary war. And one of the aspects, and issues that we have, with the British at that time. They were taking our raw goods and materials, shifting them over, to Britain, to then become finished goods. That they would export back over to us.
Does that sound familiar to anybody? That's what's happening to us, right now with the Chinese.
It's literally what's happening right now. But instead of that, it's our intellectual property. It's our technology know-how. And they're building it over there. And shipping it back to us.
GLENN: So he says that the tariffs are going to make us rich, because we will collect so much tax dollars.
But actually if -- I mean, if this works, and everybody just kind of plays fair with each other. Your tariff is not collecting that much money.
We still have to have a serious look at cutting our budget. And also, our taxes. Correct?
RILEY: Correct. Because I would say -- you're going to have some -- some revenue on that. But in the long-term, we're trying to correct a behavior here. Now, this is a -- an example that I've used before. Not that I'm in favor of this. Because I didn't support the same legislature.
But if you think about something like --
GLENN: You keep breaking up. Are you there?
RILEY: Oh, yeah, I'm there. Can you hear me, Glenn?
GLENN: Yes.
RILEY: An example to think about would be, say like a cigarette tax, which I'm not in favor of. But what they're trying to do is change the behavior on the other side. So you might get some revenue in the beginning. But eventually, people will come off of cigarettes. Right?
So it's the same way you can think to an extent to tariffs. We're trying to correct a way that the foreign countries are dealing with us with be and bringing it to a more level playing field. As the president said, he's for free trade. But for fair trade.
This is not a long-term play though, I don't think.
GLENN: I'm talking just a few minutes to one of the congressmen that are on the DOGE oversight committee.
And I can't figure out what's real and what's not on these numbers. You know, the Wall Street Journal said, I think it's only $6 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal that they've cut. I'm really not excited about anything, until we get over a trillion dollars in cuts. And I'm not sure that that -- that we're serious enough to do that. And certainly, in Congress, we're not serious about cutting. Are we?
AARON: Well, I can tell you, that I am.
And, you know, this budget resolution, that they're going to have on the floor today, has a floor itself within it. Provides some guard rails in there for one and a half trillion dollars in cuts.
GLENN: Yeah. But isn't that like an 85 trillion-dollar bill over ten years? You're only cutting. I mean, really?
RILEY: Yeah, so that's over the ten-year window. You're right. So that's over the ten-year window. So -- and the way I've talked about it. And I've talked to people. They're like, oh, it's one and a half trillion dollars. What if it gets to $2 trillion? Well, one, it's over the ten-year window. What you're saying, we will reduce let's say $200 billion a year to $2 trillion. If this place tomorrow, woke up and said, they wanted to spend 200 more billion dollars a year, they would do it in a nanosecond.
GLENN: Yeah, and you wouldn't feel it. In Washington, they wouldn't feel it.
They have to cut 10 percent! At least 10 percent from this, and to cut a billion dollars is nothing in an almost 90 -- or trillion. 1 trillion. Out of almost a 90 trillion dollar budget.
Is -- is frankly, pathetic. And a slap in the face, to people who are actually serious. And voted for serious reform.
RILEY: Yeah. And we do have to get more serious on this.
And I do think though, I mean, the things that we're seeing from DOGE, if people have the intestinal fortitude, which I'm one of these. To actually take what they're doing, and put it into law. They can pause this spending.
GLENN: Yes.
RILEY: But if we don't put it into law, it will be reappropriated in the next year.
GLENN: Yes. So the -- that's so incredible.
The -- I think the American people, I don't know if you saw what Christopher Rufo came out with as an exposé about what is happening.
RILEY: I did not.
GLENN: Oh, look it up. I won't waste your time now. Look it up. It's one of the most the bust things I've seen.
What our Intel community is doing, on our secure servers.
Where they're -- they're -- they're having the -- the most vile sex talk stuff. And NSA says it was important.
Because it was, you know, DEI crap. It's -- it's just vile.
I think when the American people start to see how our money was spent. And some of these things, when they come out and they are out in the open, and they are shown to be absolutely true. I have to tell you, I think Donald Trump is -- is running so fast. And the American people like that.
And if the Republicans don't start moving at his speed, to make massive changes, they're not going to -- they're not going to be in favor with the American people.
RILEY: No. And they won't show up. Right? And they won't show up in 2026, and rightfully so. If we don't get to the speed of Donald Trump and start cutting in the manner, in which particularly DOGE is -- Obviously, this is so frustrating for me, coming then from state government. We balance our budget every year. Every year!
GLENN: Right.
RILEY: Balanced budget. No problem. And guess what, when we come up short, what do we do?
We cut. When the Democrats are in charge, they tax. We cut, and we got our way there. Balance our budget every year.
GLENN: Yeah, well, and the other thing is, and I would love to hear your opinion on this. I don't know why we're just shifting money around in the Pentagon. I want the defense budget.
And I'm somebody who believes in defense. Strong defense.
But we have to cut everything. Including defense.
Why are we not cutting the 8 percent?
We're just moving that money around? According to Hegseth.
RILEY: I could not agree with you hoar.
Everything has got to take a cut. And I'm a big believer of national defense.
Huge believer. But everybody has got to do more with less.
Because everyone in America is doing more with less.
GLENN: Is doing that. Yes. Yes.
Riley, thank you. Thank you very much. We'll be watching what happens to your tariffs.
You are introducing that, when? To the floor.
RILEY: We just got it introduced, here last week.
And so we're actually working with the White House on the bills right now, as we speak.
GLENN: Okay. Good. Good.
Thank you so much for everything you're doing. And congratulations on -- or my condolences on being a member of Congress now.
RILEY: Well, thank you. I appreciate it.
GLENN: From West Virginia. Congressman Riley Moore.