On Tuesday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, “Whose throat do I get to choke?” if President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy fails.

The striking Capitol Hill moment happened during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Trump’s trade policy agenda following his unveiling last week of “Liberation Day” tariffs that have rattled the stock market and stoked fears of escalating trade wars.

Prefacing his question by noting his past work in management consulting, Tillis explained how the “alla prima” approach, or “doing it all at once,” proved to be a success for business projects. He also said the management consulting industry had a “concept of one throat to choke. In other words, when you’re finally looking at a strategy, somebody has to own it, and you can’t say that it’s the president or the vice president.”

The following exchange then unfolded:

“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis asked Greer.

“Senator, you can certainly always talk to me,” Greer replied.

“But are you at the tip of the spear?” Tillis pressed.

“I’m at the tip of the spear, certainly,” Greer said.

The back-and-forth continued with Greer saying he wanted to “push back” and listing some exceptions in the tariffs, which prompted some clarifying questions from Tillis.

.@SenThomTillis on tariff strategy: "Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?"@USTradeRep Jamieson Greer: "Well, Senator, you can certainly always talk to me…I'm at the tip of the spear…I would push back just a little bit on this." pic.twitter.com/fFRo7HTbNI

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 8, 2025

Dozens of foreign nations are facing a tariff baseline of 10% and — in some cases — much higher rates as part of the “Liberation Day” tariffs. Officials in Trump’s administration have said they are focused on wrangling trade deficits, including “non-tariff cheating,” but there has been some pushback. China has threatened a retaliatory tariff, which led Trump to warn he would impose a 50% additional levy if the country does not back down.

Tillis later went on to say, “I’m getting my head around the alla prima approach. I’m not condemning it because I’m not a trade expert, but I still, at some point — and I understand that you are the trade rep — so if you own this decision, then I’ll look to you to figure out if we’re gonna be successful. If you don’t own the decision, I’m just trying to figure out whose throat I get to choke if it’s wrong and who I put up on a platform and thank them for the novel approach that was successful — if they’re right.”

After expressing his concerns about retirement-aged people who are looking at their 401(k)s taking a hit and how voters might react in the future, Tillis said, “I’m just trying to figure out if they’re gonna feel good about this because a long-term play in American politics and long-term play in American policy, public policy formation, is about 12 months from the beginning of an administration. I wish you well, but I am skeptical.”