Key Takeaways
- Bipartisan Tariff Repeal Passes Senate: The Senate voted to terminate President Trump’s global tariffs, with four Republicans — Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski — joining Democrats in the symbolic rebuke.
- Little Practical Impact Expected: The measure is unlikely to advance in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson supports Trump’s trade policy. Even if it did, Trump is expected to veto any attempt to curb his tariff authority.
- Sharp Divide on Trade Philosophy: While critics like McConnell argue tariffs “make both building and buying in America more expensive,” Trump’s allies maintain they strengthen U.S. manufacturing, restore fair trade, and protect American jobs.
The Senate narrowly passed a resolution Thursday to repeal President Donald Trump’s global tariffs — a move championed by Democrats and joined by four Republicans who broke ranks with their party to side against the administration’s aggressive trade agenda.
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, was supported by fellow Republicans Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). The measure aims to terminate the national emergency Trump invoked on April 2 — which the president called “Liberation Day” — to authorize sweeping reciprocal tariffs on countries across the globe, including close allies such as Japan, South Korea, and members of the European Union.
It’s the second time the Senate has considered the proposal. A similar attempt failed in April after Vice President J.D. Vance cast a tie-breaking vote against it. McConnell and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who both missed that earlier vote, were key to Thursday’s narrow passage.
While the resolution’s passage is symbolic — Speaker Mike Johnson has no plans to bring it up in the House, and Trump would veto it immediately — it marks a political win for the small but vocal anti-tariff faction on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the lead Democratic sponsor, claimed Trump’s tariffs are driving inflation. “American families are being squeezed by prices going up and up and up,” he said, arguing that household costs have climbed by more than $100 a month.
McConnell also criticized the tariffs earlier this week, warning that “tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive.” He added that “the economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule.”
Trump’s allies, however, insist the tariffs are working — reviving domestic manufacturing, creating leverage in trade talks, and reinforcing America’s economic independence. For now, the debate is as much political as it is economic — and Trump’s veto pen guarantees this one ends on his terms.