Six Republicans Team Up with Democrats to Reverse Trump’s Tariffs on Canada

House Suspends Trump’s Tariffs on Canada

On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives passed a resolution to suspend President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. This decision came after six Republican members broke ranks to support the measure in a bipartisan vote.

Lawmakers voted 219 to 211 in favor of this resolution, which aims to revoke Trump’s emergency powers empowering a 25% tariff that is set to take effect in February 2025. The push for this vote was led by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks from New York, who called for action after House Republican leaders failed to implement rules to restrict challenges to these tariffs on Tuesday night.

Given how slim the Republican majority is in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose one vote on strictly partisan matters.

Some Republicans who voted against Trump’s position included a mix of libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie from Kentucky, along with free-trade proponents such as Reps. Don Bacon from Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania, Dan Newhouse from Washington, Kevin Kiley from California, and Jeff Hurd from Colorado. Interestingly, both Bacon and Newhouse are not running for re-election in 2026.

On the other hand, retiring Congressman Jared Golden from Maine was the lone Democrat to oppose the resolution aimed at suspending the tariffs.

Notably, two Republican members chose not to participate in the voting process.

While this vote holds symbolic weight, a similar resolution is already anticipated to pass the Senate comfortably. This follows the Senate’s approval of a related measure in October, where four Republicans also voted against the tariffs.

However, President Trump is likely to veto this resolution, and it seems that neither chamber has the supermajority needed to override such a decision.

The tariffs were initially justified by the White House, citing a national emergency concerning drug trafficking and illegal immigration at the northern border. Skeptical lawmakers have expressed doubts, pointing out that only a small fraction of the fentanyl trade originates from Canada.

House Republican leaders have consistently argued against Congress interfering in Trump’s trade policies, although the legislature has the authority to enact tariffs.

Speaker Johnson commented on the situation, noting, “This is life with a razor-thin majority, just like us.” He referred to the three Republican defections that hindered his attempts to extend the ban on tariff voting. Adding that, “I think this is a big mistake,” he expressed concerns about limiting the president’s powers while negotiating international trade agreements.

Johnson also mentioned the pending Supreme Court case, which has examined whether Trump can utilize broad emergency powers to impose tariffs unilaterally.