Here Are the Five Republican Senators Who Voted With Dems to End Trump’s Tariffs on Brazil
- Five Senate Republicans joined Democrats to block President Trump’s emergency tariffs on Brazil.
- The move came after a private lunch where VP JD Vance urged unity behind Trump’s leverage strategy.
- Names include some predictable moderates and a couple of surprises from Kentucky and North Carolina.
- The House cannot consider the resolution until January because of a GOP rule, so the fight continues.
Republican unity has been shaky through the Schumer Shutdown, and Tuesday night made that brutally clear. A small group of GOP senators joined with Democrats to block the president’s use of emergency powers to impose steep tariffs on Brazil. That vote undercut the White House trade posture at a pivotal moment.
Senators voted to block the 50 percent tariffs, siding with a resolution led by Sen. Tim Kaine. The effort passed the Senate but faces a practical barrier: House rules mean it cannot be filed for consideration until January. So the immediate effect is political pressure more than policy change.
Senate Republicans offered a rare rebuke against President Donald Trump and his trade strategy on Tuesday, despite still remaining largely in lockstep amid the ongoing government shutdown.
A handful of Senate Republicans joined Senate Democrats to end Trump’s use of emergency powers to implement steep, 50% tariffs on Brazil. While the resolution, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., advanced from the upper chamber, it can’t be taken up in the House until early next year.
That’s because House Republicans recently passed a rule that would not allow the chamber to consider legislation dealing with Trump’s tariffs until January of next year.
So, who were the Republicans who broke ranks?
If you guessed a mix of moderates and liberty-minded conservatives, you’re close. The five were:
- Susan Collins (ME)
- Mitch McConnell (KY)
- Lisa Murkowski (AK)
- Rand Paul (KY)
- Thom Tillis (NC)
The defections came after a closed-door lunch where Vice President JD Vance warned senators against undercutting the president’s leverage. Vance argued the tariffs give Trump negotiating power to secure better deals for American workers. That pitch clearly didn’t move everyone.
Vance argued after the lunch that tariffs give Trump leverage to craft new trade deals that benefit the country and urged Republicans not to break ranks against the president.
“To vote against that is to strip that incredible leverage from the president of the United States. I think it’s a huge mistake and I know most of the people in there agree with me,” he said.
As of this writing, President Trump has not publicly reacted to the vote, likely because he is traveling abroad. The political fallout inside the GOP, though, is immediate and likely to shape messaging into the new year. House Republicans have centralized control for now, which delays any full confrontation.
As noted above, the House won’t be able to take up the measure until at least January. This buys the White House time to rally support and frame the narrative, but it also hands Democrats a talking point in the short term. Expect both sides to use this episode to pitch to voters between now and the next session.
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