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House Defeats GOP Rule Shielding Trump Tariffs, Clearing Way for Democratic Votes

Three Republican defections toppled the measure, ending the months-long blockade on fast-track challenges to the duties.

Overview

  • Lawmakers rejected the leadership-backed rule 214–217, with Reps. Thomas Massie, Don Bacon and Kevin Kiley joining all Democrats to sink the measure.
  • After an intense whip operation and a seven-hour delay, GOP leaders left the vote open for nearly 90 minutes before it failed, and the Rules Committee then advanced a revised rule without the tariff language.
  • Democrats are set to bring privileged resolutions to terminate the emergencies underpinning the tariffs, starting with a Canada-focused measure led by Rep. Gregory Meeks as soon as Wednesday.
  • Speaker Mike Johnson argued for delaying tariff votes until the Supreme Court rules on the president’s emergency tariff authority; the justices heard arguments in November and a decision is expected by summer.
  • Any move to end the tariffs must also pass the Senate and would likely face a presidential veto, while several Republicans criticized both the tariffs’ consumer costs and the use of a rules maneuver that redefined “calendar days” to forestall votes.