GOP Lawmakers Briefly Misplace Fear, Find It Again by Afternoon
In a rare and swiftly denounced show of independence, six House Republicans joined most Democrats on Wednesday to vote to end President Trump’s emergency tariffs on Canada; prompting an eruption of fury from the White House and a flurry of all-caps posts before lunchtime.
The resolution would terminate Trump’s 2025 emergency declaration justifying the tariffs, which critics, and a handful of Republicans, have described as a tax on American consumers. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the New York Democrat who sponsored the measure, framed the vote starkly: “Stand with working families and lower costs, or keep prices high out of loyalty to Donald Trump?”
Trump, who has cast the tariffs as essential leverage against America’s northern neighbor, blasted the defectors as “weak” and accused them of siding with foreign interests over American strength. Allies suggested primary challenges could follow.
Rep. Don Bacon, one Republican who supported the resolution, called tariffs “a tax on American consumers” and insisted the House should debate the issue openly.
The measure now heads toward what lawmakers on both sides acknowledge is its most predictable destination: a presidential veto.
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