The Republican-controlled House voted this week to block Congress from quickly challenging tariffs imposed by President Trump that have unsettled financial markets.
The 216-214 vote, largely along party lines, delays lawmakers’ ability to force a vote to revoke Trump’s tariffs and immigration actions for the rest of the year, Reuters reported.
Since taking office, Trump has announced a series of tariffs that have strained relations with major trading partners such as Mexico and China, and this week he escalated a trade war with Canada—moves that have rattled markets and prompted business leaders to warn of weakening consumer demand.
Trump has stated that the tariffs are intended to address unbalanced trade relations, repatriate jobs, and stem the flow of illegal narcotics from abroad, Reuters noted.
Tuesday’s vote effectively halted an effort to challenge his tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico—a challenge sponsored by Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington that was scheduled for later this month.
“Every House Republican who voted 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,” DelBene and fellow Democrat, Rep. Don Beyer from Virginia, claimed in a statement.
“This is an appropriate balance of powers and we trust this White House to do the right thing, and I think that was the right vote and it was reflected in the vote count,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said when asked by Reuters why he was okay with ceding more power to the Executive Branch regarding trade.
DelBene attempted to force a vote using the National Emergencies Act, which grants the president special powers during emergencies—a justification Trump invoked for his tariff actions. The law also allows representatives to trigger a House vote within 15 days to revoke the president’s emergency authority, provided that the Senate also passes the resolution.
Tuesday’s vote modified how the House will count calendar days for the remainder of 2025, effectively preventing such a vote from occurring this year.
“The international emergency economic powers have not been used before to impose tariffs, and many members want to have a chance to weigh in,” Greta Peisch, former general counsel to the U.S. Trade Representative, told Reuters. “Without a fast-track voting process, they are unlikely to have an opportunity to do so.”
But Trump administration officials have pushed back on the Democrat and media narratives that Trump’s tariffs will create a “recession.”
On Sunday, Kristin Welker, the anchor of NBC’s “Meet The Press,” asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick directly if Americans “should brace for a recession.”
“Absolutely not. Anybody who bets against Donald Trump — it’s like the same people who thought Donald Trump wasn’t a winner a year ago,” he replied. “Donald Trump is a winner. He’s going to win for the American people. That’s just the way it’s going to be. There’s going to be no recession in America.
“What there’s going to be is global tariffs are going to come down because President Trump has said, ‘You want to charge us 100%? We’re going to charge you 100%.’ You know what they say? They say, ‘No, no, no, no, no, don’t charge us 100%. We’ll bring ours down,’” Lutnick continued.
“We’ll unleash America out to the world. Grow our economy in a way we’ve never grown before,” he added. “You are going to see over the next two years the greatest set of growth coming from America as Americans. You saw it, 1.3 trillion of new investment coming into America that – think of all those jobs, and remember, each trillion of investment in America is 1% of growth GDP.
“So, Donald Trump is bringing growth to America. I would never bet on recession. No chance,” he concluded.