Four Republican senators voted with Democrats on Thursday to approve a bipartisan resolution repealing President Trump’s global tariffs, including higher rates imposed on long-standing U.S. allies such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea.
The measure was introduced by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, along with three fellow Republicans—GOP leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Susan Collins (Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).
A previous attempt to pass the same measure failed in late April, when a 50–49 vote was decided by Vice President Vance’s tie-breaking vote against the resolution. This time, the outcome shifted after McConnell and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island—both absent in the spring—participated and voted in favor.
The one-page resolution simply declares an end to the national emergency Trump proclaimed on April 2—dubbed “Liberation Day”—under which he authorized sweeping retaliatory tariffs against dozens of countries.
Although the Senate’s decision is largely symbolic and unlikely to lead to an actual repeal of the tariffs—House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana is not expected to bring the resolution to a vote, and Trump would almost certainly veto it—its passage sent a political signal against the White House’s protectionist policies.
The bill’s lead Democratic sponsor, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, argued that Trump’s tariffs are driving up costs for American consumers. “American families are suffocating under rising prices. More than three-quarters of households say their monthly expenses have gone up by over $100,” he said from the Senate floor.
McConnell, for his part, warned that “tariffs make building and buying in America more expensive.” He added: “The economic damage caused by trade wars is not the exception in history—it’s the rule. And no creative reinterpretation of Reagan will prove otherwise,” alluding to Trump’s anger over a TV ad funded by the Canadian province of Ontario. The ad featured Ronald Reagan’s remarks criticizing protectionism—comments the president saw as a distortion of his ideological predecessor’s views.
Earlier this week, the Senate also voted to repeal higher tariffs on Canada and Brazil. However, none of those bills are expected to be taken up by the House of Representatives. On Wednesday, Paul, Collins, Murkowski, and McConnell supported lifting the 35% tariff on Canadian goods, while a day earlier the same four Republicans, joined by Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, voted to end the 50% tariff on Brazil.