Three Republican representatives block measure shielding Trump administration tariffs

A small group of Republicans staged an internal rebellion on Tuesday by opposing tariffs pushed by President Donald Trump. Their dissent led the House of Representatives to reject a rule aimed at preventing future quick votes to repeal those trade measures.

The vote, which ended 217 to 214, went through thanks to three Republican lawmakers, Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.), joined with Democrats to shoot down the proposal.

Johnson fails to stop tariff votes

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), failed to convince resisting lawmakers despite delaying the vote for nearly seven hours. The setback thwarted his attempt to block any immediate vote to revise or reverse the tariffs. The move, which would have prevented votes until July on resolutions against Trump's tariffs, had expired Jan. 31.

The House speaker noted Tuesday that a pending Supreme Court case challenging the national emergencies underpinning the tariffs was a reason to reinstate the ban.

"The rationale for this, for just extending this for a little bit longer to July, is to allow the Supreme Court to rule on the pending case that everybody’s watching and waiting for," Johnson said. "That process has been playing out. I think it’s logical to allow that to continue."

The court will determine whether Trump has the authority to use a 1977 economic powers law to impose across-the-board tariffs worldwide.

Congress's role in the tariff debate

Rep. Don Bacon justified his decision to depart from the official party line by advocating that Congress must reclaim its role in trade and tax matters, and he put it strongly when he noted that "Article I of the Constitution places authority over taxes and tariffs with Congress for a reason, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch."

"It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility. I also oppose using the rules votes to legislate. I want the debate and the right to vote on tariffs," he added.

In an interview after voting against it, Rep. Kiley stated, "I don’t think that the House should be limiting the authority of members and enlarging the power of leadership at the expense of our members."

The procedural move was used by the House in March to block attempts to force a vote on the national emergency Trump invoked to implement tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico. However, according to Politico, this could give Democrats a chance to force a vote as soon as this week on a resolution disapproving of the president's 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.