Four Senate Republicans joined Democrats in delivering a rare bipartisan rebuke to President Donald Trump over trade policy.
The Senate passed a resolution by a vote of 51 to 48, aimed at blocking the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on Canadian imports. The four Republicans who voted with Democrats were Sens. Rand Paul, who cosponsored the resolution, Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, and Lisa Murkowski, CNNnoted.
The move represents unusual bipartisan opposition to Trump within the GOP-led Senate and follows Trump’s criticism of the measure, where he urged Republicans to vote against it, the outlet noted.
The impact of the Senate vote may largely be symbolic, as House GOP leaders are not expected to pursue any efforts to rebuke Trump over his tariff policy—and had even moved earlier this year to block such a move. However, some House Democrats believe they may have found a way to bypass GOP leadership on the issue of tariffs, CNN said.
The Democrat-led Senate measure to challenge the administration’s trade policy has been in the works for some time and was not directly prompted by Trump’s tariff announcements on Wednesday. The resolution seeks to overturn a national emergency declaration that the Trump administration used in February to announce planned tariffs on Canadian imports. Democrats have framed the measure as a way to reverse the tariffs on Canadian goods, CNN added.
On Wednesday, Trump unveiled tariffs of at least 10% on nearly all goods coming into the United States, with even higher rates for countries with the largest trade deficits with the U.S.
His new policy marks a dramatic shift in global trade and economic strategy, with the goal of restoring U.S. manufacturing strength and balance trade. However, it risks escalating a global trade war and raising prices for American consumers at a critical moment for the economy, CNN claimed.
Rep. Greg Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced on Wednesday that he plans to introduce a privileged resolution to force a vote in the House on tariffs. This procedural move allows him to bypass leadership and push for a floor vote.
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who spearheaded the effort to force the Senate vote on blocking the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canadian imports, revealed on Wednesday that he had approached McConnell the evening before about joining the effort. Kaine said the Kentucky Republican pledged his support even before he could make the request, CNN said.
“I said, I want to talk to you about my Canadian tariffs bill. And you know, I didn’t even get to the question, and he said, ‘I’m with you,’” Kaine told CNN, describing how the conversation allegedly went.
During a Rose Garden ceremony announcing the tariffs, Trump predicted that, in the future, Americans skeptical of his actions will look back and understand that he made the right decision.
“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our declaration of economic independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense,” the president began.
“This will be a very big moment,” Trumpsaid. “I think you’re going to remember today. It’s going to be a free nation that we’re dealing with. We’re going to have a very free and beautiful nation. It’s going to be Liberation Day in America, and it’s going to be a day that, hopefully, you’re going to look back in years to come and you’re going to say, you know, he was right.”
“This has turned out to be one of the most important days in the history of our country. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much,” Trump said, wrapping up his remarks.
On Wednesday, Wall Street opened lower, with the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all slipping 2-3 percent ahead of the opening bell.
