A bipartisan attempt to block President Trump's global tariffs through a Senate resolution failed due to a 49-49 tie. The absence of key senators, including GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, prevented the resolution from passing.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune subsequently blocked any further attempts to bring the resolution to a vote. Even if passed in the Senate, the resolution would have likely failed in the House due to a procedural rule.
Several Republicans initially expressed support, including Sens. Rand Paul, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski. However, insufficient votes ultimately doomed the effort.
The Senate previously condemned Trump's tariffs on Canada, but a similar procedural tactic prevented consideration in the House.
President Trump has consistently defended his tariff policy and vowed to veto any resolution against it.
CNN  —Â
A bipartisan attempt to rebuke President Donald Trump over his trade policy fell short in the Senate on Wednesday amid two key absences in the chamber.
The Senate voted 49-49 to reject the resolution that would have effectively blocked the president’s global tariffs by revoking the emergency order Trump is using to enact them. GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has before criticized the president’s tariff policy, and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse were set to support the resolution but were not present to vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved to kill any effort to bring the resolution up again for a vote.
Even had it been adopted, the resolution was dead on arrival in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this year tucked a provision into a rule to prohibit consideration of the measure until September 30.
A number of Republicans – including Sens. Rand Paul, who cosponsored the resolution, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski – had earlier expressed support for the resolution. But backers of the effort faced a number of absences in the chamber and were unable to pull together the needed votes Wednesday.
The Senate moved earlier this month to symbolically condemn Trump’s tariffs on Canada, and House Republicans used the same procedural tactic to ensure that resolution couldn’t be considered in their chamber.
The president, for his part, has remained defiant in the face of congressional criticism, previously vowing to veto such a resolution if necessary.
If you often open multiple tabs and struggle to keep track of them, Tabs Reminder is the solution you need. Tabs Reminder lets you set reminders for tabs so you can close them and get notified about them later. Never lose track of important tabs again with Tabs Reminder!
Try our Chrome extension today!
Share this article with your
friends and colleagues.
Earn points from views and
referrals who sign up.
Learn more