WASHINGTON — House lawmakers voted to overturn President Trump’s executive order that slapped a series of tariffs against Canada after GOP leadership tried unsuccessfully to stop the White House rebuke.
While the measure, which was introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), will have little practical effect given that it must clear the Senate and is unlikely to overcome the president’s veto, its approval is a symbolic blow to Trump and reveals a tariff-skeptical majority in Congress.
The House voted 219-211 to adopt Meeks’ joint resolution. Six Republicans joined with Democrats in passing the anti-tariff effort: Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.)
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) was the only Democrat to vote no.
Democrats have similar measures targeting tariffs on Brazil, Mexico, and elsewhere lined up for possible future votes.
Meek’s joint resolution specifically targets Trump’s Feb. 1, 2025, executive order that declared a national emergency to allow the president to slap a 25% tariff against Canada at the time.
Since then, Trump has wielded that national emergency power to make a series of adjustments to his tariff policy. At the moment, there is a 35% duty on most Canadian products and services not subject to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
USMCA products and services aren’t subject to tariffs. Meanwhile, energy-related imports are mostly subjected to a lower 10% rate, according to the Reed Smith firm’s Trump 2.0 tariff tracker.
Privately, Trump is contemplating whether or not to pull out of the USMCA, which was negotiated during his first term, Bloomberg News reported.
Trump has been vexed by Canada easing trade relations with China, having threatened this week to stop the opening of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor.
The president has beefed with Canada throughout his second term, famously bringing the northern neighbor’s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to tears.
GOP leadership had attempted to spare Trump from the symbolic blow by leveraging a procedural step, known as a House rule, to block future votes aimed at spiking the president’s tariffs.
Ultimately, that failed when three Republicans (Massie, Kiley and Bacon) defected to kill the rule in a 217-214 vote.
“The tariffs have been a tool that the president has used very effectively to level the playing field and put America back on top, and I think it’s wrong for Congress to step in the middle of that,” Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox Business Network on Wednesday.
Last year, the Senate approved multiple resolutions to rein in Trump’s tariff power, including ones last October targeting Trump’s tariffs in Canada, Brazil, and other countries.
Ultimately, it would take a two-thirds majority of both chambers in Congress to overcome a presidential veto.
Trump is also facing a broader threat to his protectionist agenda from the looming Supreme Court decision on his International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs, which is the legal avenue he has used for the bulk of his duties thus far.
“I imposed a 30% tariff on them [Switzerland],” Trump recalled to Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” about his use of IEEPA. “Then I received an urgent call from the Swiss president. I didn’t like the way she spoke, so instead of lowering it, I raised the tariff to 39%.”
