Since President Trump unleashed an on-again, off-again whiplash of global tariffs, congressional Democrats have worked to shine a spotlight on small business owners who say the tariffs and economic toil are threatening their livelihoods.
In videos on social media, local news stories, Capitol Hill news conferences and hearings, Democrats have spotlighted the plight of local entrepreneurs who describe being forced to raise prices, lay off workers, freeze hiring and slow sales to conserve stock as they absorb the impact of Mr. Trump’s trade moves.
It is one way in which Democrats are trying to use the tariff issue in their broader strategy of portraying Mr. Trump and Republicans as catering to the rich and powerful at the expense of ordinary Americans. The focus comes as Democrats work to recast themselves as the party of working people and accuse Republicans, historically known as the party of business, of stifling American entrepreneurship.
“President Trump’s trade war is economic arson on Main Street, and these folks are getting scorched,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said at a news conference this week with several small business owners.
“The outcry that we hear from our small businesses echoes what we heard during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, the top Democrat on the Small Business Committee, at a shadow hearing held on Thursday by House Democrats. “Except this time, the government is causing the pain, not working to alleviate it.”
Democratic leaders have encouraged their rank-and-file members to focus on small businesses. Many of them did so last month when they fanned out across the country during a two-week recess.
Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada toured a bicycle travel bag company in Reno whose owner said that while he was thankful the Trump administration had paused its double-digit “reciprocal” tariffs on countries like Vietnam, his source for fabric, the continuing uncertainty would prevent his company from hiring more local staff as their business grows.
Both Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Representative Pete Aguilar of California spoke with craft brewery owners in their states about how the 25 percent levies on aluminum could force them to raise prices.
And Representative Nancy Pelosi of California gathered small business owners in a San Francisco produce warehouse to rail against the “fear and uncertainty” that the president’s tariffs had instilled in them, their employees and their customers.
Republicans argue that small business owners are thriving under Mr. Trump. Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, has declared American manufacturers are spearheading an “industrial comeback,” pointing to a 74 percent increase in approvals for loans to help small manufacturers expand. She has also said that the small businesses she talks to are “grateful” to Mr. Trump “for having the strength and the backbone to stand up to adversaries and allies alike.”
Asked in a recent interview whether he would consider tariff exemptions for small businesses, Mr. Trump scoffed.
“They’re not going to need it. They’re going to make so much money,” Mr. Trump said in the interview with Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday.
Earlier in the interview, he had criticized Ms. Welker for focusing on small businesses.
“What about the car business?” he asked. “They’re going to make a fortune because of the tariffs.”
For Amy Leinbach, a Texas business owner who spoke at Mr. Schumer’s news conference, news of the tariffs soured what otherwise would have been a breakthrough year for her shop, “Big Bee, Little Bee.” Ms. Leinbach designs and sells a line of eco-friendly silicone food storage containers and children’s products.
“I’m not even going for my numbers now. We had sales goals, but literally, that’s out the window now,” Ms. Leinbach said. “Our goal is purely survival in the market until something changes.”
Those stories have not appeared to move the needle in the Republican-led Congress, where the House has proactively ceded its power to end Mr. Trump’s tariffs and Senate efforts to do so have either failed or stalled.
Senator John Curtis, Republican of Utah, acknowledged that tariffs were “disproportionately hard on small businesses” and said he had relayed numerous owners’ stories to the White House. But he said he would not be supporting legislation introduced this week by Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, that would exempt small businesses from the tariffs.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which traditionally supports Republican candidates and aligns with conservative policies, has highlighted the fears of small business owners and even called on the administration to grant tariff exemptions for local businesses and those who can’t feasibly source their products domestically, such as coffee roasters.
But the National Federation of Independent Business, one of the primary lobbying groups for small business interests, has not taken a position on the tariffs, given the lack of consensus among its members. Drawing broad conclusions about how small businesses across the board are responding to tariffs is “tricky,” said Jeff Brabant, the group’s head of federal government relations.
“When you represent manufacturing, retail, agriculture, services, everything under the sun, it affects everyone a little differently,” Mr. Brabant said. “I just don’t think it’s a crystal clear answer.”
Maya C. Miller covers Congress as part of the Times Newsroom Fellowship, a program for journalists early in their careers. She is based in Washington.
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