Congressman Mike Bishop joined with members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday at the White House for a meeting with the President to discuss the summit with Russian President Putin along with tax reform, trade and tariffs.

The meeting came amid the firestorm of criticism directed at the President for comments he made alongside Putin in Helsinki that called into question U.S. intelligence findings of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Bishop released a statement following the meeting at the White House, saying that he expressed his concerns, “directly to President Trump regarding Russia’s status as one of the most threatening adversaries facing our nation. This is not new. Russia has repeatedly worked to destabilize democratic institutions across the world, and I stand behind our American intelligence agencies. That’s why I voted in the House to expand economic sanctions on Russia, and I will continue to support policies which hold Russia accountable.”

He added that the dialogue was also an opportunity to raise the issue of trade and tariffs directly with the President, and advocate on behalf of manufacturers and farmers across the district. Bishop said he understood, “the ways in which current tariffs will impact Michiganders, as well as the ramifications retaliatory actions have for our companies. We must be more targeted and precise as we work to hold countries like China accountable for unfair trade practices.”

Despite that, Bishop said that with the unemployment, “at its lowest point in decades,” he was able to share with President Trump, “the optimism I’m hearing from Michigan’s workforce and manufacturers. In the comeback state, our workforce is seeing employers, like Fiat Chrysler, return to Michigan from overseas – and that is an exciting turnaround. We want to continue the progress of tax reform by delivering permanency for our middle-income families.” (JK)