Six Republicans Join Democrats To Overturn Trump’s Canada Tariffs

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to terminate President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada after six Republicans crossed party lines to support the measure.

Lawmakers voted 219-211 to pass the resolution of disapproval eliminating Trump’s emergency powers underpinning his 25% tariff on Canadian goods levied in February 2025. Democratic New York Rep. Gregory Meeks forced a vote on the measure after House Republican leadership failed to pass a rule Tuesday night that would block lawmakers from challenging Trump’s tariffs.

House Speaker Mike Johnson could afford to spare just one defection in party-line vote given Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the lower chamber.

Retiring Maine Rep. Jared Golden was the lone Democrat to oppose the resolution terminating Trump’s Canada tariffs.

Two Republicans did not vote.

The vote is largely symbolic, though a similar resolution is expected to pass the Senate by a comfortable margin. The upper chamber approve a similar resolution in October after four Republicans crossed party lines in disapproval of Trump’s Canada tariffs.

Trump will almost certainly issue a presidential veto and supermajority of lawmakers in both chambers likely does not exist to override him.

The White House declared a national emergency over drug trafficking and illegal immigration at the northern border to justify the Canada tariffs, though skeptical lawmakers have asserted just a fraction of the fentanyl trade comes from Canada.

House Republican leadership has repeatedly argued that Congress should not interfere with Trump’s trade agenda, despite the legislative branch having statutory authority to levy tariffs.

“This is life with a razor thin majority as we have,” Johnson told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday when asked about the three GOP defections that sunk his push to extend a ban on tariff votes. “I think it’s a big mistake. I don’t think we need to go down the road of trying to limit the president’s power when he is in the midst of negotiating America First trade agreements with nations around the world.”

Johnson also mentioned the highly-anticipated case before the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in November about whether Trump can unilaterally impose tariffs using sweeping emergency powers.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the GOP defections.