Updated Feb. 11, 2026, 6:43 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON – Republican backlash in Congress over President Donald Trump‘s sweeping tariffs burst into view on Feb. 11 despite last-minute efforts by White House officials to stave off a public party schism.
The GOP-led House of Representatives voted to overturn his tariffs on Canada after six Republicans joined with House Democrats to rescind the emergency declaration the president has used as a basis for imposing taxes on imports from one of the United States’ closest allies. Republicans still largely backed Trump, with a vote totaling 219-211.
The vote was the culmination of simmering frustration with the White House among some GOP lawmakers, whose patience for a long-awaited Supreme Court ruling over Trump’s tariff power had run thin. Over the past year, a procedural trick allowed House Speaker Mike Johnson to block any legislation from his chamber challenging the president’s favored foreign policy tool, which runs afoul of more traditionally conservative approaches to economics.
Wednesday’s vote was the first in what will likely be a series of tariff rebukes forced by Democrats. The renewed scrutiny is already threatening to divide the Republican Party on a high-profile stage ahead of November’s midterm elections.
President Trump immediately threatened the GOP lawmakers who bucked him, which included Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Jeff Hurd of Colorado, and Kevin Kiley of California. One Democrat voted to preserve the tariffs: Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
“Any Republican, in the House or Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Before the vote, Bacon said Trump’s tariffs have been a “net negative” and a “significant tax that American consumers, manufacturers, and farmers are paying.”
“Article I of the Constitution places authority over taxes and tariffs with Congress for a reason, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch,” he wrote on social media. “It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility.”
The bill now heads to the Senate, where its fate is unclear. Some Republicans in that chamber have expressed the same discontent over the president’s emergency tariff policies as their House counterparts. Even if the legislation were to survive the Senate, it would face a veto at Trump’s desk.
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Republican leaders scrambled to stop it from happening. They worked late into the night trying to persuade stubborn lawmakers, but ultimately couldn’t muster the support to prevent it, delivering a blow to Speaker Johnson.
Democrats are expected to put additional measures on the House floor in the coming days and weeks, attempting to block tariffs on other countries.
In November, both liberal and conservative justices on the Supreme Court appeared skeptical of whether a president should be allowed under the Constitution to levy taxes on nearly every good imported to the U.S. The high court has yet to rule in the case, and it’s unclear exactly when a decision could be announced. The justices return from winter recess on Feb. 20.
Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
