The Republican-led House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to terminate tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on Canada as six GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in a largely symbolic rebuke of the administration’s trade policy.
The measure passed by a 219 to 211 vote. Only one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against the resolution, NBC News reported. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York led the joint resolution and will now head to the Senate for consideration.
But even if passed by the Senate, the measure would almost certainly not survive a veto by President Trump. The president issued a warning Wednesday aimed at Republicans who oppose his tariff policies.
“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump wrote on Truth Social around the time of the House vote.
The House Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution were Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Kevin Kiley of California, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
Not all of the lawmakers face immediate political consequences.
Bacon and Newhouse are not seeking reelection, and Trump has already endorsed a primary challenger against Massie.
Hurd defended his vote in a social media post on Wednesday.
“If we normalize broad emergency trade powers today, we should expect that a future president, of either party, will rely on the same authority in ways many of us would strongly oppose,” Hurd wrote.
“My responsibility is to defend the separation of powers regardless of political convenience,” he added.
Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods last year after invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
He later threatened additional tariff increases tied to a series of political demands.
Most recently, Trump warned he would impose a 100 percent tariff on Canadian imports if the country proceeded with a trade deal with China.
The president has made tariffs a central pillar of his second term, arguing they protect domestic manufacturing and advance national security interests.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he was disappointed by the vote but stressed it would not change administration policy.
“The president has veto power, and there’s not a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override the veto, so it’s not going to change the policy in the end anyway,” Johnson told reporters.
“I think this is a fruitless exercise and a pointless one,” he added.
House Republicans last year passed a rule blocking the chamber from canceling the president’s tariffs, but that restriction expired at the end of January.
Republicans attempted and failed Tuesday night to extend the ban through late July.
That failure cleared the way for Wednesday’s vote on Canadian tariffs.
Three Republicans, Massie, Kiley, and Bacon, voted against extending the prohibition.
Bacon later explained his position on social media.
“Congress needs to be able to debate on tariffs,” Bacon wrote.
“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,” he added.