Washington — The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a measure aimed at blocking tariffs on Canadian products that are set to take effect, as Democrats seek support from a handful of Republicans willing to buck President Trump.
The resolution, led by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, would terminate the national emergency that the president is using to impose the tariffs, effectively blocking the sweeping levies on foreign imports. Kaine is forcing the vote under the National Emergencies Act. But the GOP-controlled House is unlikely to take up the resolution, making the vote largely a symbolic one.
Whether the measure would find enough support in the upper chamber remains to be seen. With 47 Democrats and independents in the chamber, the resolution would require the support of at least four Republicans for approval.
“There’s still a lot of discussions underway and a lot of votes that are still in play,” Kaine said at a news conference Tuesday. “Often in the Senate, everything is pretty predictable. This is one where it’s not particularly predictable.”
The President first threatened the tariffs on Canada and Mexico in January, touting a need to enhance border security and stop the flow of fentanyl over the nation’s borders, before they were twice delayed. While tariffs have drawn support from UAW President Shawn Fain, a typical Democratic ally, economists have warned they likely will lead to higher prices and financial markets have retreated this year as investors brace for the impact.
Kaine, who called the tariffs “attacks on everyday people,” said the president has justified the imposition of these tariffs on “a made up emergency.” He argued that while fentanyl is a “real emergency,” it’s not from Canada, while warning that the Canadian tariffs will tax groceries and food products, building supplies, fertilizers, along with materials that produce ships and submarines and implicate U.S. national security.
Mr. Trump urged Tuesday that “Republicans in the Senate MUST vote to keep the National Emergency in place, so we can finish the job, and end the scourge.”
“Don’t let the Democrats have a Victory,” the president said in a post on Truth Social. “It would be devastating for the Republican Party and, far more importantly, for the United States.”
Democrats are looking to GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and former GOP leader Mitch McConnell for support, along with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican who cosponsored the legislation.
The president called out the senators, saying in a post around 1 a.m. on Wednesday that “Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change.”
“The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve,” Mr. Trump continued, asking the senators’ constituents to reach out to them.
“They have been extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself,” the president added.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Republicans to join Democrats in supporting the resolution, calling the tariffs a “tax increase on American families, plain and simple.”
“Every single Senate Republican should support Tim’s resolution, and support American families,” Schumer said.
The New York Democrat cited Mr. Trump’s urging of the GOP to oppose the measure, claiming that the president is “very worried” about the resolution.
“He knows they might lose here in the Senate,” Schumer added.
