Rebuke Trump’s tariffs

House set to rebuke Trump’s tariffs

A late-night GOP revolt cleared the way for a vote on Rep. Gregory Meeks’ resolution to overturn the president’s Canadian tariffs.

Mia McCarthy

The House is set to rebuke Donald Trump’s signature economic policy Wednesday following Speaker Mike Johnson’s failure late last night to contain GOP unrest over the administration’s trade war.

The chamber will vote on a resolution offered by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) to overturn the president’s Canadian tariffs. It comes after GOP Reps. Kevin Kiley of California, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky sided with Democrats to tank a procedural rule, which contained a provision GOP leaders have relied upon for months to prevent members from voting to undermine Trump’s trade agenda.

“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,” Kiley told POLITICO.

Now the House will vote Wednesday afternoon on the Meeks resolution. And thanks to a combination of Johnson’s razor-thin majority, Democratic unity and expected Republican defections, that measure is expected to be approved — it’s only a question of, by how much.

Besides Kiley, Bacon and Massie, keep an eye on Republican Reps. Dan Newhouse (Wash.) and Zach Nunn (Iowa), who held out on voting for the rule Tuesday night before eventually folding. Newhouse in particular was subject to a full-court press on the House floor from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer. Reps. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) have also been uneasy about the tariffs.

No longer held back, Democrats can and likely will continue to force votes on other resolutions to overturn Trump’s tariffs on goods from Mexico and Brazil, following the example of senators who have successfully voted across party lines to curb the administration’s trade activities.

“What we want to show is that really this should be a bipartisan issue,” Meeks told reporters Tuesday. “The American people are watching to see what we do in this issue.”