A key procedural vote in the House is suddenly on shaky ground as Republican leaders scramble to shore up support for a rule that would temporarily block snap votes aimed at repealing President Trump’s tariffs.
The vote, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, has drawn resistance from several Republicans who say Congress should not shield the president’s trade policies from immediate scrutiny. Reps. Kevin Kiley of California and Victoria Spartz of Indiana both confirmed they plan to vote against the rule because it reinstates a prohibition on fast-track votes to repeal the national emergency authority underpinning Trump’s tariffs.
“I think it’s the job of Congress to take this vote and decide which tariffs are good, which tariffs are bad,” Spartz said, arguing that lawmakers should not sidestep their responsibilities.
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska also signaled opposition, telling Punchbowl News he is inclined to vote against the rule due to the tariff language. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has frequently broken with GOP leadership, voted against a similar rule in the past and is viewed as another potential defection.
With the House majority razor-thin, Republican leaders can afford to lose no more than one member on the rule vote, assuming full attendance. Rule votes are typically strict party-line tests of leadership control, making the emerging resistance a serious problem.
In what appeared to be an acknowledgment of the challenge, House leaders delayed the vote Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., buying time to whip votes and calm internal dissent.
The controversy centers on language approved Monday by the House Rules Committee, which is effectively controlled by the Speaker. The provision would reinstate through the end of July a ban on calling snap votes to repeal the national emergency authority used to impose Trump’s tariffs. The language is tucked into a procedural rule governing unrelated legislation for the week.
Democrats had been preparing to force a vote this week to repeal Trump’s tariffs on Canada. GOP leaders previously allowed the prohibition on such votes to expire at the end of January, calculating at the time that extending it would be impossible amid pushback from tariff-skeptical Republicans.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he still expects the rule to pass, though he acknowledged the uncertainty. “We’ll see,” Johnson told reporters.
In a closed-door GOP conference meeting, Johnson urged members to support the rule, arguing that Congress should pause action until the Supreme Court rules on a pending case challenging Trump’s use of national emergency authority to impose tariffs.
“The rationale for this, for just extending this for a little bit longer to July, is to allow the Supreme Court to rule on the pending case that everybody’s watching and waiting for,” Johnson said. He added that Trump’s trade policies have benefited the country and deserve time to be evaluated by the courts.
That argument appeared to sway Rep. Tom McClintock of California, who had previously joined a small Republican rebellion over the same issue. After starting the day undecided, McClintock said he would vote in favor of the rule.
“I remain a tariff skeptic,” McClintock wrote on X. “But with the Supreme Court expected to rule by summer… I think it would be unwise to alter the status quo until we know the full scope and implications of the decision.”
Spartz, however, rejected that reasoning, saying Congress should not wait on the courts to assert its authority.
“I think we need to stop waiting for the Supreme Court,” she said. “We are the Article 1 branch, a co-equal branch.”
Kiley was even more firm, saying nothing would change his vote as long as the tariff provision remains in the rule, setting up a high-stakes test for GOP leadership and the future of Trump’s trade agenda.
[READ MORE: Fox News Slams Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime as “Worst Ever,” Trump Calls It an “Affront to America”]
