House Republicans ran into a buzzsaw Tuesday night, and it was not from Democrats. It came from inside their own conference.
A key procedural rule designed to shield President Trump’s tariffs from being challenged on the House floor went down in a 214 to 217 vote. That is what happens when you are governing with a razor thin 218 to 214 majority and a few members decide they are not going to play along.
Three Republicans broke ranks. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska joined every Democrat in voting no. Two Republicans did not vote at all, including North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy, who has been absent this week after undergoing surgery for a benign skull tumor.
With numbers this tight, Speaker Mike Johnson could afford just one defection if everyone was present. He got three.
The proposed rule would have blocked lawmakers from forcing votes to cancel President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and Brazil until early August. Conveniently, the House is expected to be out of session that month and again in October as members campaign ahead of the midterms. In other words, leadership wanted to buy time.
Massie was not having it. He has long been skeptical of tariffs and is currently facing a Trump backed primary challenger. He took to X and wrote, “The law requires Congress to permit a vote on Presidential emergencies within 15 days of being declared. Today the Speaker is trying to pass a resolution that literally says a day is not a day, just to avoid voting on the emergencies that underpin the tariffs. Smoke & mirrors!”
That is not subtle.
Bacon framed his opposition in constitutional terms. “I have to answer to Article I,” he told reporters, referencing Congress’ authority over tariffs. He is not wrong about the text. The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations. Presidents have been delegated emergency powers over the years, but the underlying authority still rests with the legislative branch.
This setback came after a seven hour delay as GOP leaders scrambled to lock down support. Frustration has been building among some Republicans over repeated efforts to block rank and file attempts to unwind Trump’s trade measures. A similar procedural shield passed in March 2025 by a slim 216 to 214 margin, but that one expired on January 31.
Now Democrats, including New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, are eager to force votes to revoke the tariffs, particularly those targeting Canada. A prior version of such a measure even cleared the Senate with four GOP votes last October, though any final resolution would almost certainly face a veto from President Trump.
Johnson defended the extension, arguing that a pending Supreme Court case should play out first. “The rationale for extending this a bit longer to July is to allow the Supreme Court to rule on the pending case,” he said, adding that President Trump’s trade agenda has been a “great benefit to the country.”
The larger issue here is not just tariffs. It is whether House Republicans can stay unified long enough to advance an agenda with margins this thin. When three votes can derail the entire strategy, every disagreement becomes high drama.
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