Several Republican senators joined forces with Democrats to pass a resolution that would prevent Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, marking a rare criticism of the president’s trade policies, just hours after he announced plans for extensive import taxes on some of the country’s biggest trading partners. In a 51-48 vote, four Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Kentucky senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul—resisted Trump’s influence to support the measure. The resolution aimed at ending the national emergency on fentanyl that Trump cited to justify tariffs on Canada. The Senate’s move represented significant bipartisan opposition to the president’s expanding global trade disputes with both allies and adversaries.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who sponsored the bill, emphasized that tariffs would hurt American families and small businesses, stressing that Canada is an ally, not an enemy. Despite Republican apprehension over Trump’s stances against free trade, a policy once central to conservative ideology, many GOP leaders supported the president’s recent and extensive tariffs, which Trump touted as benefiting American manufacturing. Before the vote, Majority Leader John Thune urged Republicans to oppose the resolution, arguing that tariffs are necessary to combat the flow of fentanyl.
Trump, through a post on his social media platform, rebuked the four Republican senators who opposed his tariffs, calling on them to support his stance against the Democrats’ endeavors to penalize Canada for fentanyl trafficking. Trump vowed not to sign the measure if it reached his desk. Senator Collins defended her vote, emphasizing the harms tariffs would pose to working families in Maine and disputing the idea that fentanyl from Canada is a significant threat to the US, noting most fentanyl enters from the southern border.
Democrats, building on their recent successes in special elections, argued the public is increasingly moving away from Trump’s agenda, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer highlighting the costly impact of tariffs and lack of support from the public for Trump-aligned figures. Earlier, Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced his intention to force a similar vote in the House regarding the tariffs. He urged Republicans to take a stand against the economic hardships Trump’s policies are imposing on their constituents.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/02/republicans-democrats-canada-tariffs
