The GOP-led House could be compelled to vote on nullifying President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs against dozens of foreign countries due to a measure that a Democrat is preparing to unveil.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Wednesday that he intends to introduce a resolution to end the national emergency authority that Trump employed to implement the new array of penalties on imports.
“Trump just hit Americans with the largest regressive tax hike in modern history—massive tariffs on all imports. His reckless policies are not only crashing markets, they will disproportionately hurt working families,” Meeks said, according to a post on X.
“I’ll soon introduce a privileged resolution to force a vote on ending the made up national emergency Trump is using to justify these taxes,” Meeks added. “Republicans can’t keep ducking this — it’s time they show whether they support the economic pain Trump is inflicting on their constituents.”
Last month, House GOP leadership placed language into their rule for a stopgap funding bill that blocked Democrats from securing votes on resolutions to terminate a prior national emergency declaration that Trump used when he announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
Meeks is now seizing on how Trump’s latest round of tariffs, which include a 10% baseline on imports for targeted countries and rates up to 50% in some cases, relies on a brand-new national emergency declaration. Republicans could try a similar parliamentary move to stop the new resolution.
In the Senate, Democrats forced a vote on a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to discontinue the older national emergency declaration. Kaine’s resolution specifically takes issue with the 25% tariffs on Canada imposed by the Trump administration as part of an effort to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Four Republicans joined forces with Democrats and independents to pass the Senate resolution on Wednesday evening, sending it to the House. However, the House is unlikely to pass it, and Trump has indicated he would veto the resolution if it did reach his desk.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) said in a statement after the vote on Wednesday that Kaine’s “goal” was “to undermine President Trump’s successful work to secure the Northern Border,” adding, “This meaningless messaging resolution will not stop Senate Republicans from making America’s communities safer.”
