Tariff votes hand Republicans an unwanted referendum on affordability

A small GOP rebellion is unleashing a flood of House votes on President Donald Trump’s tariff policies in the coming weeks — handing Democrats a powerful tool to hammer Republicans on affordability issues ahead of the November midterms.

House leaders had shielded their most vulnerable Republicans from politically explosive votes on tariffs for more than a year, but now the fallout is reverberating on Capitol Hill and in tough battleground races around the country.

Six Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats Wednesday to overturn Trump’s Canada tariffs — a vote that took place only after three of those GOP members bucked Speaker Mike Johnson and voted Tuesday to reject a provision that would have blocked it. The move is likely to force a Trump veto.

More votes are coming: Senior House Democrats plan to call up at least three more resolutions that will force many Republicans to choose between protecting their tariff-hit districts and pleasing their MAGA voter bases — not to mention their loyalties to a president who has, up until this week, not tolerated any House GOP dissent on the matter.

Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, who leads the House Democratic campaign arm, said in an interview that her group would “continue to hold every single vulnerable Republican responsible for their broken promise to lower prices.”

“If Republicans think this is such a great idea, then they can vote to support the tariffs,” she added. “But … we're going to make sure that they're accountable for their votes.”

The tariff votes — brought to the House floor under special expedited procedures that Johnson and other GOP leaders cannot easily block — are already making some farm-state Republicans squirm. Trump’s tariff wars have weighed heavily on agricultural exports, and many committed free-traders have long since had to make their peace with Trump’s policies.

“I've been critical of the tariffs,” said Rep. Derek Schmidt (R-Kan.). “But having said that, we've come this far.” He echoed a leadership argument — that Trump’s sweeping tariff powers could be confirmed or curtailed in a Supreme Court ruling expected sometime before July.

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), another tariff skeptic who chairs the Ways and Means subcommittee on trade, painted the Democratic effort to reject the tariffs as a political stunt. Like Schmidt, he voted to support the Canada tariffs Wednesday.

“I welcome a sincere discussion on trade policy and the role in the legislative branch — any time, any place,” Smith said. “I'm not sensing that this is one that is intended to be a good discussion.”

But those in more vulnerable districts and seeking other offices weren’t so eager to chat about the tough vote. Many have been uneasy with the president’s slash-and-burn trade policy and skeptical of the White House’s pleas for patience as Trump pursues trade deals. A recent POLITICO poll showed that more Americans oppose Trump’s tariffs than support them.

One of the six Republicans opposing the Canada tariffs Wednesday, Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado, cited congressional powers, not political concerns, in explaining his vote, while also noting the steep impact tariffs have had on farmers and manufacturers in his district.

“My job is to defend my district and my Constitution at the same time,” he said in an interview. “This is not a partisan issue for me.”

Rep. David Schweikert, a longtime free-trade advocate who is running for governor of Arizona in a heavily contested GOP primary, said he was on the fence ahead of the Canada vote but ultimately came to a different conclusion.

“Part of my angst is, it's a taxing authority. Taxing authority belongs with Congress. So in some ways, it's a classic, you know, do I defend the Constitution?”

Democrats are now preparing to move ahead with multiple additional resolutions overturning Trump’s tariffs in Mexico and Brazil, as well as the president’s global “Liberation Day” tariffs. They see them as up-or-down referendums on a key policy driving up costs for Americans as recent special and off-year elections show voters turning against the GOP.

“Those folks are starting to speak out,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the lead proponent of the tariff votes. “Those are warning signs to them that they need to do what the right thing is, and not just follow the president and his wayward ways.”

Tariff politics are already making their mark on a number of campaigns — especially in districts and states where manufacturing or agriculture have been adversely impacted. Rep. Haley Stevens, who is running in a competitive Democratic primary for a Michigan Senate seat, has hammered the Trump levies as part of her affordability message.

“Erratic, shoot-by-the-hip tariffs are causing Michiganders an incredible cost. They're raising the cost of groceries and everyday goods,” Stevens told reporters after a United Auto Workers candidate forum held Wednesday in Washington. “We can't withstand this level of uncertainty and chaos.”

The tariff votes were unlocked by a trio of House Republicans who are unusually immune to intraparty pressure. One, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, is a libertarian rebel who has clashed with Trump for months. Another, Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, had his district redrawn by Democrats last year and is less eager to toe the party line.

The third, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), is retiring after repeated disagreements with the White House on tariffs, foreign policy and other matters. He said in an interview Wednesday the levies have simply been bad for his Omaha-centered district and that it was time to take a stand.

“There's so many companies struggling against tariffs, and that's what the president needs to hear,” he said. “Our farmers are struggling.”

White House officials and House GOP leaders unleashed an all-out pressure campaign to try to force the rebels to fall in line, calling around to other House Republicans and staffers asking “what buttons to push” with the holdouts, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the covert effort.

Bacon said that after he voted against the procedural measure and left the floor Tuesday night, GOP leaders tried to persuade him to come back and negotiate, offering tariff carve-outs and other incentives for businesses in his district.

“They were shocked,” Bacon recounted. “They said, ‘Why don't you stick around?’ I said, ‘I'm not planning on negotiating.’”

After the tariff votes were unleashed, the Trump administration pivoted its lobbying campaign, according to one White House official, and is now focused on maintaining enough GOP support to prevent veto overrides. More than 70 Republicans would have to break ranks to meet the two-thirds majority for an override.

Some Democrats expected a major GOP jailbreak Wednesday, thinking Republicans would not want to threaten their reelection chances by voting to sustain the tariffs.

“[Republicans] have been remarkably loyal to a bad policy,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “They were thinking about the president as this term began and as this push on tariffs was launched. And now they’re thinking about themselves.”

But as House members were voting Wednesday, Trump publicly threatened any turncoats.

“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” he wrote on Truth Social.

When the gavel fell, only Hurd and two other Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Dan Newhouse of Washington — had joined Bacon, Kiley and Massie. The tight margin all but guaranteed that the House will fail to override a Trump veto.

Elena Schneider contributed to this report.