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WASHINGTON — In a notable move on Wednesday, the House voted to reject President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, marking a rare, symbolic challenge to the administration as members of the GOP broke ranks to side with Democrats, despite party leadership’s objections.
The vote, which ended at 219-211, represents one of the initial instances where the Republican-led House has opposed a core policy of the president. The measure aims to dismantle the national emergency Trump declared to enforce the tariffs. However, reversing the policy would necessitate Trump’s approval, a prospect that appears unlikely. The resolution now advances to the Senate.
President Trump views tariffs as a strategic tool to compel U.S. trade partners to engage in negotiations. Nevertheless, legislators are encountering growing discontent from businesses ensnared in trade disputes, as well as from citizens grappling with rising living costs.
“Today’s vote is quite straightforward: Will you vote to reduce living costs for American families, or will you maintain high prices out of allegiance to one individual — Donald J. Trump?” posed Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the resolution’s sponsor.
This significant moment highlights the House’s discomfort with the president’s policies, particularly with the midterm elections on the horizon and economic concerns weighing heavily on voters’ minds. Previously, the Senate has already expressed its disapproval of Trump’s tariffs on Canada and other nations. However, for the tariff reversals to come into effect, both legislative chambers must approve and send the resolution to President Trump, who would then decide to sign or veto it.
Trump recently threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada over that country’s proposed China trade deal, intensifying a feud with the longtime U.S. ally and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
GOP defections forced the vote
House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to prevent this showdown.
Johnson insisted lawmakers wait for a pending Supreme Court ruling in a lawsuit about the tariffs. He engineered a complicated rules change to prevent floor action. But Johnson’s strategy collapsed late Tuesday, as Republicans peeled off during a procedural vote to ensure the Democratic measure was able to advance.
“The president’s trade policies have been of great benefit,” Johnson, R-La., had said. “And I think the sentiment is that we allow a little more runway for this to be worked out between the executive branch and the judicial branch.”
Late Tuesday evening, Johnson could be seen speaking to holdout Republican lawmakers as the GOP leadership team struggled to shore up support during a lengthy procedural vote, but the numbers lined up against him.
“We’re disappointed in what the people have done,” Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday morning. “The president will make sure they don’t repeal his tariffs.”
Terminating Trump’s emergency
The resolution put forward by Meeks would terminate the national emergency that Trump declared a year ago as one of his executive orders.
The administration claimed illicit drug flow from Canada constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat that allows the president to slap on tariffs on imported goods outside the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, said the drug flow of fentanyl into the U.S. is a dire national emergency and the policy must be left in place.
“Let’s be clear again about what this resolution is and what it’s not. It’s not a debate about tariffs. You can talk about those, but that’s not really what it is,” Mast said. “This is Democrats trying to ignore that there is a fentanyl crisis.”
Experts say fentanyl produced by cartels in Mexico is largely smuggled into the U.S. from land crossings in California and Arizona. Fentanyl is also made in Canada and smuggled into the U.S., but to a much lesser extent.
Torn between Trump and tariffs
Ahead of voting, some rank-and-file Republican lawmakers expressed unease over the choices ahead as Democrats – and a few renegade Republicans – impressed on their colleagues the need to flex their power as the legislative branch rather than ceding so much power to the president to take authority over trade and tariff policy.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he was unpersuaded by Johnson’s call to wait until the Supreme Court makes its decision about the legality of Trump’s tariffs.
“Why doesn’t the Congress stand on its own two feet and say that we’re an independent branch?” Bacon said. “We should defend our authorities. I hope the Supreme Court does, but if we don’t do it, shame on us.”
Bacon, who is retiring rather than facing reelection, also argued that tariffs are bad economic policy.
Other Republicans said they were still making up their minds after Johnson’s gambit – which would have paused the calendar days to prevent the measure from coming forward — was turned back.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to have to support our president,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said he doesn’t want to tie the president’s hands on trade and is ready to support the tariffs on Canada “at this time.”
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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
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