White House warns of Trump veto if Tim Kaine 'stunt' vote to cancel tariffs passes Senate

FIRST ON FOX: The White House is warning President Trump may veto a Democrat-led resolution that would undo his tariffs against Canada if it passes the Senate on Tuesday.

In a statement of administrative policy obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, the Trump White House said that if the resolution came to his desk, "his advisors would recommend that he veto it."

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., led several other Democrats in introducing the privileged resolution, which would specifically roll back the tariffs that the Trump administration levied on Canada. 

The resolution would reverse the national emergency that Trump declared on Feb. 1 at the northern border. 

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A White House official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement, "President Trump promised to secure our borders and stop the scourge of fentanyl that’s poisoning our communities, and he’s delivering. Democrat Senator Tim Kaine is trying to undermine the President’s Emergency Declaration at our Northern Borders—a measure that prioritizes our national security—for reasons that defy logic."

"Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, criminal networks, fentanyl, and terrorists ran rampant along the northern border. Today’s stunt by Tim Kaine proves once again how woefully out of touch the Democrat Party is with the American people as they use a matter of national security for political gamesmanship. The stakes are too high to reverse course; the declaration must stay in place."

Kaine responded with his own statement, telling Fox News Digital, "The Trump Administration’s own threat assessment report on fentanyl did not mention Canada—not even once. Trump’s order is a blatant abuse of his authority, and it is critical that Congress push back before he inflicts even more damage to our economy and to the relationship with one of our top trading partners and closest allies."

In a recent op-ed in the Washington Post, Kaine wrote, "The emergency powers Trump is invoking — based on provisions of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act — are intended for use in legitimate emergencies related to foreign threats and adversaries."

The senator claimed that "Trump’s rationale for an ‘emergency’ that justifies billions in taxes on American consumers doesn’t make sense in Canada’s case."

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He also accused the president of making "spurious claims of a fentanyl crisis at the northern border on par with the drug situation at the southern border, but his numbers don’t add up."

According to the White House, since the emergency was declared, border crossings from the north have fallen by 65%. 

The White House also pointed to the significant increase in encounters along the northern border under former President Joe Biden, who saw a more than 420% increase in encounters at their peak. 

In 2024, the White House further claimed U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill nearly 10 million people. 

Trump took to Truth Social himself on Monday to rail against Kaine's resolution: "Senator Tim Kaine, who ran against me with Crooked Hillary in 2016, is trying to halt our critical Tariffs on deadly Fentanyl coming in from Canada. We are making progress to end this terrible Fentanyl Crisis, but Republicans in the Senate MUST vote to keep the National Emergency in place, so we can finish the job, and end the scourge."

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"By their weakness, the Democrats have allowed Fentanyl to get out of hand. The Republicans and I have reversed that course, strongly and quickly. Major additional progress is being made. Don’t let the Democrats have a Victory. It would be devastating for the Republican Party and, far more importantly, for the United States. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he continued. 

Republican leadership is echoing Trump's message in the Senate, with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., set to make similar arguments in a floor speech on Wednesday. 

In prepared remarks obtained by Fox News Digital exclusively, Barrasso will say, "For four years, America’s attention has been on the southern border. Meanwhile, the criminal cartels noticed how Joe Biden and the Democrats threw open the northern border."

He will note that Trump recognized its unique threats and "is taking bold, swift action to secure it."

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"Why would we let up?" Barrasso will ask, also pointing to the facts that "Canada is making changes. Canada agreed to deploy to the border more technology and more law enforcement officers. Canada also created its first ever National Fentanyl Czar."

The resolution is expected to get a vote on Tuesday. However, it could be moved depending on the length of Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking floor speech, which is still ongoing. 

It will only require a simple 51-vote majority to be agreed to. This means there's a significant chance that it advances, with some Republicans, such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., having expressed concerns about the tariffs.