Democrats plan to force two Senate votes in the coming weeks aimed at terminating President Donald Trump’s emergency declarations that underpin tariffs on Canada and Brazil, Sen. Tim Kaine said Monday.
Kaine, D-Va., said he will introduce two separate bipartisan resolutions this week under a decades-old law that allows Congress to block a president’s emergency powers. The move automatically triggers a vote and, if the resolutions fail, can be reintroduced every six months, a tactic Kaine said he will pursue until the tariff policy changes.
Kaine said he will introduce the measures with a group of Democrats and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a vocal opponent of tariffs. The Virginia senator said the resolutions will force Republicans to choose between supporting constituents or backing the president, adding, “Over time, the instability is creating huge concerns.”
One resolution would rescind the emergency declaration Trump signed in February to justify tariffs on Canada, which the administration said were tied to Canadian efforts to curb illegal drugs entering the United States. The second would end the emergency tied to 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, a policy the administration has linked to Brazil’s policies and the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
In April, the Senate passed a resolution to block the Canadian tariffs with four Republicans voting with Democrats, but the House never took up the measure. Kaine said he hopes that, now that the tariffs are in effect and their impacts are becoming clearer, more Republicans will vote against the measures.
The tariff actions come amid growing concern about their economic effects. The Congressional Budget Office last week said the Trump administration’s tariff policy is among several factors expected this year to raise unemployment and inflation and to lower overall economic growth. Lawmakers from farm states and other regions have warned that sweeping tariffs could harm businesses that rely on cross-border trade.
Senate Republicans have largely deferred to the president on trade, arguing he needs time to negotiate bilateral deals, even as some members have voiced wariness. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota has said he has reservations about the broad tariffs but acknowledged the political reality that Trump campaigned on such policies.
The Canadian tariffs vote in April drew Republican support from Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who joined Democrats to advance the resolution. At the time, the president publicly criticized those senators for breaking with him.
Brazil is a significant U.S. trading partner in commodities and industrial goods. In addition to oil, Brazil exports orange juice, coffee, iron and steel to the United States. The Census Bureau reported a $6.8 billion U.S. trade surplus with Brazil last year.
Kaine has used similar procedural tactics before. He forced a vote in April on broader global tariffs announced by the administration; that measure was tied 49-49 and failed, an outcome Kaine said might have been different if two absent senators had been present.
By invoking the statutory path to compel votes, Kaine and his allies are taking a repeated, incremental approach intended to keep pressure on Republican senators who have expressed privately or publicly that they are uncomfortable with the tariffs. The resolutions are scheduled for the coming weeks, and Kaine said he will refile them every six months if necessary until the administration’s tariff policy is altered.