The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to stop Congress from quickly challenging the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed, which have shaken up the financial markets.
In a close vote of 216-214, mostly along party lines, the House voted to delay any action on tariffs until next year. This means lawmakers won’t be able to force a vote to remove Trump’s tariffs or challenge his immigration policies until 2026.
Trump has announced several tariffs since taking office, disrupting trade with key partners like China and Mexico. Recently, he’s also escalated tensions with Canada, which has caused market uncertainty and raised concerns among business leaders about slowing consumer demand.
Trump has argued that the tariffs will fix trade imbalances, bring jobs back to the U.S., and help stop illegal drugs from entering the country.
Tuesday’s vote blocks an effort led by Democratic Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington to challenge Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico. DelBene’s proposal was supposed to go to a vote later this month.
“Every House Republican who voted for this measure is voting to give Trump expanded powers to raise taxes on American households through tariffs with full knowledge of how he is using those powers, and every Republican will own the economic consequences of that vote,” said DelBene, joined by Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia, in a statement.
Changing House rules to favor the majority party is a common practice on Capitol Hill.
A senior Republican House leadership aide explained that Tuesday’s vote was meant to “prevent the Democrats from limiting the president’s authority.”
This provision was added to a procedural vote tied to the Republicans’ six-month funding bill.
DelBene had planned to use the National Emergencies Act to force a vote. This law gives the president special emergency powers and allows Congress to challenge the president’s decisions within 15 days. However, the vote on how to count days in 2025 now prevents this challenge from happening this year.
This change is the latest example of Congress allowing the executive branch to have more control over trade decisions.
“The international emergency economic powers have not been used before to impose tariffs, and many members want to have a chance to weigh in,” said Greta Peisch, former general counsel to the U.S. Trade Representative. “Without a fast-track voting process, they are unlikely to have an opportunity to do so.”
