• A bipartisan Senate coalition advanced a resolution to terminate President Trump’s emergency tariffs on Canadian goods.
• Four Republicans joined Democrats in the vote, marking continued GOP resistance to Trump’s trade policy.
• The White House dispatched the vice president to rally Republican support, signaling concerns about defections.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — A small but persistent group of Senate Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday to advance a resolution blocking President Donald Trump‘s retaliatory tariffs on Canada, marking the latest bipartisan rebuke of the administration’s trade agenda. The vote underscores growing tensions between the White House and moderate Republicans over executive authority on trade matters.

Familiar faces break ranks

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., sponsored the resolution to terminate the emergency powers Trump invoked earlier this year to impose duties on Canadian imports. Four Senate Republicans crossed party lines to support the measure: Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

The same core group of Republicans has consistently challenged Trump‘s use of emergency declarations for trade policy, raising constitutional concerns about executive overreach. However, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who previously voted against Trump tariffs, reversed course and opposed Kaine‘s resolution this time.

White House scrambles for support

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The administration deployed the vice president to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to rally Republican senators during their weekly lunch meeting, according to Kaine. The high-level intervention demonstrates White House anxiety about eroding support among GOP lawmakers on trade policy.

“The vice president came up yesterday to try to corral Republicans at their lunch,” Kaine said before the vote. “That shows the White House is worried about defectors on this.”

The emergency powers Trump invoked to impose Canadian tariffs stem from national security concerns, a justification critics argue stretches the legal framework designed for genuine threats. Canada remains America’s largest trading partner, with billions in goods crossing the border daily.

Constitutional and economic concerns

Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, has repeatedly argued that tariffs represent taxation without congressional approval, violating constitutional principles of legislative authority over commerce. Collins and Murkowski, both moderate Republicans from states with significant trade relationships with Canada, face constituent pressure to oppose duties that could raise consumer prices and disrupt supply chains.

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McConnell, the former Senate majority leader, has grown increasingly willing to break with Trump on policy matters since stepping down from leadership. His vote against the tariffs signals continued independence from the administration despite his long history of supporting Republican presidents.

What happens next

The resolution’s advancement sets up a potential full Senate vote in coming weeks. If it passes both chambers and reaches Trump‘s desk, he would almost certainly veto it. Congress would then need a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override the veto, a threshold that appears unlikely given Republican control of both chambers.

The bipartisan coalition’s persistence on trade issues reflects broader concerns about presidential power and economic consequences of protectionist policies. Business groups and agricultural interests have lobbied intensively against tariffs, warning of retaliatory measures from trading partners.

Will continued Republican defections on tariffs force the White House to reconsider its trade strategy?

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