Senate Republicans are staring down a second key test on President Trump’s tariff policy in less than a month as Democrats eye a vote this week targeting his “Liberation Day” levies.
The upper chamber is expected to vote as early as Wednesday on a resolution backed by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) aimed at scrapping the sweeping tariffs Trump rolled out in early April.
Although the item is non-binding and would be dead on arrival in the House, it marks yet another battle with Trump over the tariffs that have roiled the stock market, shaken alliances and made scores of Republicans uneasy.
Trump was dealt a blow earlier in the month when four Senate Republicans sided with every Democrat on a bill that targeted his levies against Canada. Republican leaders are hopeful to avoid a repeat as they continue to defer to Trump on the subject.
“I think most fair-minded people see it as just a political pageantry,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters.
Republicans have tried to give Trump space to operate, but the tariffs have been a constant source of heartburn for some members, especially as the 145 percent tariff on imports from China remains intact.
Leadership kept up that posture on Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) both urged the Senate GOP conference to defeat the resolution, one Senate GOP source told The Hill. The White House has already said it would veto it.
“We’ll see. I think most of our members are of the mind that the administration’s close to getting some deals, they want to give them some time to do that [and] put some wins on the board,” Thune said ahead of lunch.
“Democrats are trying to make the same point,” he continued. “I think this is similar to the discussion we had a few weeks ago and we’ll see where people are on it.”
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Paul sided with Democrats on the Canada resolution last month. Whether they vote for this one as well is an open question.
Collins and Murkowski told reporters on Tuesday that they are both undecided and are reading up on the resolution ahead of the vote.
“I’ve got a couple more conversations I want to have with some folks,” Murkowski told The Hill.
Collins added that she has just started to look over the resolution.
She noted her preferred avenue to take on tariffs is a bill backed by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that would restore congressional authority over tariffs. Trump has also vowed to veto that.
A McConnell spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The bill was rolled out less than a week after Trump unveiled his much-celebrated levies against scores of countries, many of which have since been slashed through mid-June in search of deals with individual nations.
Democrats are hoping for a similar success as with Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) successful Canada-centric resolution the GOP was unable to defeat.
“I’m struck. My sense is Republican colleagues have been home and they just see their small businesses getting clobbered by these tariffs,” Wyden told The Hill, pointing to seven town halls he held in Trump-backed counties across his state during the two-week break.
“They would tell stories like: ‘Here’s my business. Prices are down, the cost of inputs is up and I can’t figure out what’s coming next because of the lack of certainty – and you better figure out how to do something about it,’” Wyden said. “I think Republican senators have a choice: Either represent their constituents who are suffering … or say it’s more important to keep Donald Trump from being mean to us.”
GOP lawmakers were also briefed on Tuesday by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who sought to calm the nerves of Senate Republicans who are antsy for the administration to make deals with a wide swath of nations.
Greer indicated that talks are ongoing with a number of countries and that deals could be revealed in the coming weeks, according to multiple Senate GOP members. He also pressed that, absent China, most nations are “in sync” with the U.S.’s wishes.
“It certainly sounds like there are a lot of things in the pipeline,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told reporters. “It sounds like there’s a lot happening and we’re going to be hearing about it soon.”
“It doesn’t sound like any deals are made yet, but it sounds like they’re feeling as though they’re getting close,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) added, noting that those deals still must get a thumbs up from Trump himself.
Multiple Senate Republicans also said that the conference made clear to Greer that they prefer the administration not wait until mid-summer to unveil most of these deals. They want these to be announced as they happen — something they view as important as they try to sell the trade policy to the public.
“The thing most articulated was: Roll them out as they come along. Don’t try to save them up for … some later day,” Cramer said. “People are anxious about it. They want to see the results of the strategy.”
