The Republican-led Senate approved a resolution to terminate the national emergency President Donald Trump used to impose 50% tariffs on Brazil, passing 52-48 with five GOP votes. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, is largely symbolic given a House procedural blockade and the prospect of a presidential veto, but it foreshadows more tariff votes and an upcoming Supreme Court test of Trump’s trade powers.
The Senate on Tuesday passed a bipartisan resolution to end the emergency declaration underpinning President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, a 52-48 vote that drew support from five Republicans and signaled growing discomfort in parts of the GOP with the administration’s trade strategy. (reuters.com)
The resolution targets Trump’s 50% tariffs announced in July 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the White House said were a response to actions by Brazil’s government, including the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro was sentenced last month to more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after his 2022 election loss. (whitehouse.gov)
Five Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Rand Paul of Kentucky—joined Democrats to approve the measure led by Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. (washingtonpost.com)
Even so, the resolution is unlikely to take effect. Earlier this year, the House adopted a procedural rule that blocks floor consideration of efforts to roll back Trump’s tariffs until March 2026, and the White House has signaled the president would veto any such bill. (washingtonpost.com)
Kaine framed the votes as a constitutional check as well as an economic stand. “The votes are about the economic destruction of tariffs, but they are also really about how much will we let a president get away with? Do my colleagues have a gag reflex or not, in terms of powers that constitutionally are handed to Congress?” he told reporters. (cbsnews.com)
Vice President JD Vance lobbied Republicans over lunch to oppose the resolution, arguing the tariffs are leverage in negotiations. “To vote against that is to strip that incredible leverage from the president of the United States. I think it’s a huge mistake,” Vance said afterward. (washingtonpost.com)
Some Republicans defended Trump’s approach. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri pointed to the president’s ongoing Asia trip focused on trade, saying it was “bringing in a lot of revenue” and “very successful,” according to the Guardian. (theguardian.com)
Others broke with the administration. Tillis, who voted for the Brazil measure, said the tariffs appeared rooted in a dispute over a judicial proceeding, not trade. “I just don’t think there’s a rational basis for it… if all of a sudden it could be something not to do with business or trade, invoking a 50 percent tariff, that creates big uncertainty in the business community,” he told reporters. (washingtonpost.com)
It was the second such Senate action this year. In April, the chamber voted 51-48 to oppose tariffs on Canada with support from four Republicans, though the effort stalled in the House. (apnews.com)
Democrats say additional votes aimed at other countries’ tariffs are coming this week, even as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case this fall that could clarify the scope of a president’s tariff powers. (apnews.com)
Underlying many Republicans’ qualms are concerns about costs for farmers, manufacturers, and consumers. McConnell has warned that tariffs raise prices and that “the economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule.” (wsj.com)