A Senate resolution challenging the economic emergency declaration underpinning President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs failed on Wednesday evening in a tight vote.
Senators voted 49-49 on the resolution, led by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Paul, Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats to back the effort.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had supported a previous initiative to overturn tariffs applied to Canada, and Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse did not vote. Their absences left senators split, and without the vice president breaking the deadlock, the resolution failed.
The bill’s backers had sought to overturn the 10% baseline tariff and additional country-specific tariffs that the administration unveiled on April 2 – what President Donald Trump dubbed "Liberation Day." The president used powers granted by Congress under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, arguing that a “large and persistent” U.S. trade deficit poses a threat to U.S. national security.
Trump later paused the higher country-specific tariffs for every nation except China for 90 days, but the 10% baseline tariff remains in effect.
The effort to overturn the tariffs was always a long shot. House leadership had passed a rule to prevent any similar resolution from being brought to the floor before the end of September. The White House Office of Management and Budget also issued a statement of administration policy earlier this week that promised to veto the resolution, if necessary.
But Paul told reporters after the vote that the debate was “still worth having.”
If the president reintroduces the higher tariffs and the economy takes a beating, Paul argued, there could be increased Republican skepticism of Trump’s trade agenda.
“If a month from now, we have massive tariffs go on, and we have a massive selloff in the stock market, and we didn't have a first good quarter in growth, and if it's worse again in the second quarter, people will start asking, ‘is it a good policy, or is it a bad policy?’” Paul said.
Earlier in the day, Paul also told Agri-Pulse that behind closed doors, more of his colleagues are concerned about Trump’s trade actions, even if they aren’t willing to be outspoken in public.
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“There's many more Republicans who are worried about the tariffs,” Paul said.
They “still believe in their heart that free trade and free markets is the way to go, but they have lacked the courage to come forward,” he added.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., acknowledged to Agri-Pulse that the tariffs are causing some pain and making his constituents, including those in the agricultural sector, jittery. But Hoeven said that he was confident once the administration began announcing agreements to remove some of the tariffs, the long-term benefits would outweigh any negative economic impacts.
“Some of our guys are concerned about our competitors filling some of those orders,” Hoeven said of North Dakota farmers anxious about overseas markets drying up. “That's why I think if you start to see some of these agreements announced, I think that will really help.”
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the administration is working on deals with 17 countries and singled out negotiations with India as being particularly far along.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke to Republicans on Capitol Hill during a closed-door lunch.
Hoeven said based on this meeting – as well as an hour-long conversation with Greer last week and conversations with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins during the Easter recess – he is confident there will be announcements on deals in the coming weeks.
“You'll start to see announcements,” Hoeven said.
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