Several Senate Republicans have broken from the rest of their conference on a major vote that could limit some of President Donald Trump’s authority over trade.
In a Wednesday post to Bluesky, Aaron Fritschner — the deputy chief of staff for Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) — announced that a resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) narrowly passed the Senate on a 51-48 vote. That resolution would end the state of emergency Trump declared to justify his tariffs imposed on imported goods from Canada. In addition to all 47 Democrats, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also voted yes.
“Big news: on a bipartisan basis the Senate just voted to reject Trump’s tariffs on Canada,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote on his Bluesky account. “The House has to vote on it next, where it’s less likely to pass, but the cracks are starting to form. Trump is losing support from Republicans on his costly trade war.”
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The fact that both Kentucky Republicans, who are both ardent Trump supporters, voted to curtail his tariff authority on Canada may be due to the United States’ northern neighbor putting high retaliatory tariffs on bourbon whiskey, which is one of Kentucky’s chief exports. Two-term Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear warned that there could be mass layoffs in the Bluegrass State’s bourbon industry as a result of the tariffs.
Additionally, Kaine may have been motivated to introduce the resolution as a means of protecting Virginia’s breweries and distilleries. VinePair beer industry reporter Dave Infante observed that Kaine recently visited a Richmond, Virginia-area distillery as a way of illustrating how Trump’s new trade duties could impact businesses in the Old Dominion State.
Kaine’s resolution was able to circumvent the cloture process (in which senators can block any legislation from moving forward without 60 votes) under 50 U.S.C. 1622, which pertains to a president’s emergency powers. One subsection of that statute allows for the Senate to revoke that power under the chamber’s rule-making authority.
According to NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur, the resolution will now head to the House of Representatives, where House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is unlikely to bring it up. Members could, however, force it to the floor by getting a discharge petition signed by 218 members. But even if the House passes it, Congress likely doesn’t have enough votes to override a likely veto by President Trump.
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