In a rare bipartisan move, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to pass a resolution aimed at overturning President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration that justifies imposing tariffs on Canadian imports. The vote represents a significant rebuke of Trump’s trade agenda, with four Republican senators joining all Democrats to support the measure.

The resolution, led by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, seeks to terminate the national emergency declared by Trump earlier this year. The emergency was used as the legal basis for imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, which Trump claimed was necessary to combat fentanyl trafficking across the border. Critics have argued that Canada is not a major source of fentanyl and that the tariffs would disproportionately harm American consumers and businesses by raising prices on essential goods such as groceries, building materials, and fertilizers.

Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), and Rand Paul (Kentucky) broke ranks with their party to vote in favor of the resolution. 

Senator Paul, a co-sponsor of the legislation,  said, “We’re not at war with Canada,” Paul said. “They’re an ally that buys more of our stuff than almost any other country in the world.”

McConnell echoed these sentiments in his post-vote statement: “As I have always warned, tariffs are bad policy, and trade wars with our partners hurt working people most”.

President Trump fiercely opposed the resolution, urging Senate Republicans to vote against it via posts on Truth Social. He specifically called out Senators McConnell, Murkowski, Collins, and Paul for their perceived disloyalty to the party and his administration. Trump framed the resolution as a Democratic ploy and warned that its passage would weaken Republican unity.

He also suggested that fentanyl would have a tariff, if imported. 

“Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy,” he wrote. 

The resolution passed narrowly, marking one of the first significant breaks between Senate Republicans and Trump during his second term. However, its impact may be limited; House Speaker Mike Johnson has already indicated that the Republican-controlled House will not bring the measure to a vote. Trump also said he would veto the bill if it arrived on his desk.

Economists have widely criticized Trump’s tariff strategy as potentially harmful to the U.S. economy. Many warn that it could lead to higher consumer prices and economic contraction. 

Senator Kaine described the tariffs as “attacks on everyday people,” adding that they would tax essential goods while doing little to address fentanyl trafficking or enhance national security. He emphasized that Canada should not be treated as an adversary in trade policy.