The U.S. House of Representatives has challenged President Donald Trump by approving a resolution to end his tariffs on Canadian imports. This rare bipartisan push reflects Republican unease over rising costs for groceries and energy amid the USMCA trade framework.
Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tabled the motion, which passed 219-211 on Wednesday. Six Republicans joined nearly all Democrats after derailing a prior attempt by party leaders to block debate. Only Democrat Jared Golden from Maine opposed it.
Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana, a Trump ally, could not rally his slim 218-seat majority. Trump warned dissenters on Truth Social during the vote. “Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!”
“TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.”
Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Kevin Kiley of California, and Don Bacon of Nebraska led the break. Bacon, retiring after this term, rejected White House incentives. “I voted on principle,” he said of Tuesday’s procedural vote. “They were trying to do sweeteners for Nebraska, but I said what about the other 49 states?”
He added online, “I don’t like putting the important work of the House on pause, but Congress needs to be able to debate on tariffs. Tariffs have been a ‘net negative’ for the economy and are a significant tax that American consumers, manufacturers, and farmers are paying.”
Democrats cheered the outcome. “The Speaker continues to abdicate his responsibilities, ceding Congress’s Article I authority to Donald Trump,” Meeks said on X Tuesday. “Republicans now face a clear choice: go on the record and join Democrats in ending these cost-raising tariffs, or keep forcing American families to pay for them.”
Johnson called it misguided amid Trump’s trade talks. “This is life with a razor-thin majority,” he told Fox Business Wednesday. “I think it’s a big mistake. I don’t think we need to go down the road of trying to limit the president’s power while he is in the midst of negotiating America-first trade agreements with nations around the world.”
The measure heads to the Senate, which backed similar resolutions last year. “Congress has spoken with bipartisan clarity: it’s time to give Americans relief and end Trump’s tariff tax,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “This price-spiking tariff tax is raising costs on everything from groceries prices to energy bills—all because Trump chose chaos over common sense. It’s time to deliver relief.”
Trump is expected to veto it, and overriding would need two-thirds support in both chambers – unlikely given the narrow revolt.