Congress Just Made It Harder for Congress To Block Trump’s Tariffs
President Donald Trump’s reckless tariff policies are threatening to drive the economy into a ditch—and Congress just made it harder to take away the keys.
In a near party-line vote on Tuesday afternoon, the House of Representatives blocked the most direct pathway for lawmakers to revoke the emergency executive powers Trump used last month to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China. That change helps further cement executive control over trade policy and creates additional challenges for lawmakers seeking to claw back some control over tariff decisions.
“It speaks volumes that Republicans are sneaking this provision into a procedural measure hidden from the American people,” said Reps. Don Beyer (D–Va.) and Suzan DelBene (D–Wash.) in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Fair warning: The details of what happened are a bit wonky.
Before passing a continuing resolution to keep the government open, the House had to pass a separate resolution setting the rules for the debate over the stopgap spending bill. This is a routine thing. On this occasion, however, Republican leaders slipped a provision into the rules resolution that makes a long-term change to how the House will operate.
“Each day for the remainder of the first session of the 119th Congress shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 202 of the National Emergencies Act with respect to a joint resolution terminating a national emergency declared by the President on February 1, 2025,” is how the relevant portion of the rules package spell
Article from Reason.com
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