In a stunning and chaotic turn on Capitol Hill, the Republican-controlled House failed Tuesday night to push through a critical procedural rule designed to shield President Donald Trump’s tariffs from being dismantled for most of 2026.
The vote wasn’t even close enough to survive the razor-thin majority math.
Lawmakers rejected the rule 214-217, delivering an unexpected setback to House GOP leadership and exposing deep fractures inside the Republican conference. Three Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Kevin Kiley of California, and Don Bacon of Nebraska — broke ranks and joined every Democrat in voting no.
With Republicans holding a narrow 218-214 majority, Speaker Mike Johnson could only afford to lose one vote. He lost three.
Two Republicans did not vote. North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy, who has been recovering from surgery following a benign tumor diagnosis, has been absent all week. But even with perfect attendance, leadership would have been walking a tightrope.
The failed rule would have blocked lawmakers from forcing votes to cancel Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and Brazil until August — a month when the House is expected to be out of session as members campaign ahead of the midterms.
That timing was no accident.
Democrats, led by New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, have been gearing up to force a vote to revoke Trump’s emergency tariff powers. Meeks has pledged to move forward as soon as Wednesday unless GOP leadership intervenes again.
Massie, a longtime critic of tariffs who is currently facing a Trump-backed primary challenger, blasted the maneuver in fiery terms.
“The law requires Congress to permit a vote on Presidential emergencies within 15 days,” Massie wrote on X. “Today the Speaker is trying to pass a resolution that literally says a day is not a day. Smoke & mirrors!”
Bacon echoed constitutional concerns as he left the Capitol.
“I have to answer to Article I,” he told reporters, pointing directly to Congress’s authority over tariffs.
The tension had been building for hours. GOP leaders delayed the vote for seven hours Tuesday, scrambling behind closed doors to secure support. It wasn’t enough.
This isn’t the first time leadership has tried to block rank-and-file members from challenging Trump’s trade agenda. In March 2025, the House narrowly passed a similar procedural measure to protect the tariffs. That shield expired January 31, creating the opening Democrats are now exploiting.
And the Senate looms large.
An earlier resolution targeting Trump’s tariffs cleared the Senate in October with four Republican votes. If a new measure makes it through both chambers, Trump is expected to veto it immediately. But the political optics are another matter entirely.
Speaker Johnson defended the delay strategy, arguing the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of Trump’s tariff framework in the coming months.
“The rationale for extending this a bit longer to July is to allow the Supreme Court to rule,” Johnson said. “That process has been playing out.”
He also praised Trump’s trade agenda, calling it a “great benefit to the country.”
Still, public opinion may be complicating the picture. A Marist poll released February 5 found that 56 percent of Americans believe tariffs hurt the U.S. economy.
Now the House faces a volatile crossroads. Internal GOP divisions are out in the open. Democrats smell opportunity. And Trump’s signature trade policy is once again at the center of a political firestorm.
The next vote could ignite an even bigger battle.
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