House GOP blocks Democrats from forcing vote on repealing Trump tariffs

House Republicans on Tuesday approved a provision that would prevent Democrats from forcing votes for the remainder of the year on repealing recent tariffs implemented by President Trump.

It essentially means that any legislation to undo the national emergency declaration Trump used to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China would have to go through a process subject to approval by House GOP leadership, rather than under a fast-track process that Democrats were hoping to utilize.

Democrats are fuming at the legislation, with Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) — members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade — issuing a joint statement slamming it.

“Every House Republican who votes for this measure is voting to give Trump expanded powers to raise taxes on American households through tariffs with full knowledge of how he is using those powers, and every Republican will own the economic consequences of that vote,” Beyer and DelBene said in the statement. “It speaks volumes that Republicans are sneaking this provision into a procedural measure hidden from the American people.”

Republicans, though, argue Democrats are misrepresenting the move.

“We limited a procedural tool between now and the end of December to say that if we want to address that issue, we bring it forward under a rule,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who sits on the House Rules Committee. “That’s all we did. All we said was that we’re not going to let them go play games, which they clearly want to do to undermine the fact that the president is addressing a national emergency. That’s it.”

A House GOP leadership aide added: “This provision simply prevents the Democrats from limiting the President’s authority.”

One source said that conservatives sought to pause the expedited authority for just six months while GOP leadership wanted to pause it through 2026, and the end-of-year date was a compromise.

Republicans quietly added the language regarding the expedited process to repeal a national emergency to a “rule,” a procedural resolution that also set the parameters for debate on a spending patch, which was approved by the House on Tuesday afternoon.

It reads: “Each day for the remainder of the first session of the 119th Congress shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 202 of the National Emergencies Act with respect to a joint resolution terminating a national emergency declared by the President on February 1, 2025.”

The gambit removes the ability for any House members to use an expedited process to force a vote on repealing the tariffs.

Trump utilized the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in order to implement the tariffs. The National Emergencies Act outlines an expedited process for congressional action on repealing a national emergency if it is not acted on in 15 days.

Democrats already had legislation teed up: House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) introduced such resolutions on March 6, starting that 15-day clock.

But the new language approved by the House essentially pauses that clock, saying that days from now until the end of the year do not count.

House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said that Democrats found out about the provision Monday night, and led an amendment to strike the provision in the Rules Committee. That failed on a party-line vote.

“Why are they sneaking this unrelated provision into this rule? I’ll tell you: they’re scared to vote on it. They want no floor vote, no Republicans on the record, and no way to stop these devastating price hikes,” McGovern said in the Rules Committee Monday night.

Democrats, however, have previously used the exact same tactic when they were in the majority to block Republicans from forcing votes to repeal national emergency declarations.

One rule approved in 2021, using very similar language that Republicans used in the resolution approved Tuesday, paused the expedited process on repealing a national emergency for 18 months until the end of the 117th Congress. That prevented Republicans from forcing consideration of a resolution from Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) to end the COVID-19 national emergency.

Mychael Schnell contributed.