Six Republicans broke with President Trump and voted to overturn his tariffs on Canada, even as the president issued a dire threat against their re-election campaigns through social media.
“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!,” President Trump wrote.
Despite the pressure, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) voted on Wednesday to end Trump’s use of a national emergency to impose tariffs on Canada.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the power to impose tariffs lie with Congress. Trump has cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as justification for his broad use of tariffs as part of his foreign policy. However, that justification was challenged and is now before the Supreme Court, who heard oral arguments on the matter in November 2025.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to bar any votes on the tariffs, but that vote failed earlier this week when three Republicans sided with Democrats to defeat the measure.
Bacon cited the need for lawmakers to reassert Congress’s constitutionally defined role in the operation of the federal government.
“Article I of the Constitution places authority over taxes and tariffs with Congress for a reason, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch,” Bacon wrote on X. “It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility. I also oppose using the rules votes to legislate. I want the debate and the right to vote on tariffs.”
The measure to undo the Canada tariffs will now go to the Senate. If approved, the legislation would likely be vetoed by President Trump.
