Washington — An effort aimed at blocking President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in the Senate amid anxiety over how the wide-ranging tariffs could disrupt the U.S. economy fell short on Wednesday, with Senate Republicans largely united in their opposition.
In a 49 to 49 vote, all but three Republicans opposed the measure, in a victory for the White House and GOP leadership in the Senate as the party seeks to remain united on the issue. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, and Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, did not vote.
“Senator Whitehouse is on his way back from representing the United States at the Our Ocean summit, where he was the sole American official,” a spokesperson for the Senator said in a statement explaining his absence. “The Senator expressed America’s continued support for the Blue Economy, climate solutions, fisheries, and maritime security, even as the Trump administration cedes leadership on the oceans to the rest of the world.”
The resolution, led by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, would terminate the April 2 national emergency that the president is using to impose the tariffs, effectively blocking the sweeping levies on foreign imports. Along with Paul, Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democrats and independents in support of the measure, falling short of the majority needed for passage.
The measure almost certainly wouldn’t have been taken up in the GOP-controlled House, making the vote largely a symbolic one.
The vote came after the president on April 2 announced a 10% baseline tariff on almost all U.S. trading partners while increasing levies on dozens of other countries. Days later, as investors appeared spooked, Mr. Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of his new tariffs, keeping the 10% baseline in place while raising the tariff rate on goods imported from China.
Wyden told CBS News ahead of the vote of the measure’s chances that “this is a choice for senators.”
“They’ve been home and they’ve heard from their constituents, like small businesses, that are getting clobbered by these tariffs,” Wyden said. “If they’re going to listen to their constituents, we’ll get their support, and if they’re more concerned about Donald Trump being mean to them, they’ll go with opposition.”
Paul admonished his fellow Republicans on the Senate floor ahead of the vote Wednesday, saying “this should not be a partisan issue” and noting that “Congress didn’t debate these tariffs, Congress didn’t vote to enact these tariffs — the tariffs are simply imposed by presidential fiat
“If Americans are to live under this emergency rule, it will not be because the president sought too much power,” Paul said. “It will be because Congress let it happen.”
Earlier this month, the Senate approved another resolution to block Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Canada, which fall under an earlier national emergency. At the time, four Republicans joined all Democrats and independents to support the measure — Murkowski, Collins and McConnell, along with Paul. The House did not vote on the measure.
Mr. Trump had put pressure on Senate Republicans to oppose the measure, calling out the senators expected to support it by name. But those senators held fast in their opposition.
Ahead of the vote this time around, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Vice President JD Vance joined the conference during their launch meeting on Tuesday, where senators said Greer told them the administration is making progress on trade deals.
Meanwhile, House Republican leadership has taken steps to quash efforts to block Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Earlier this month, Republicans included in a key piece of legislation a provision that would prevent members from forcing a vote to block the tariffs announced on April 2, after also doing so with the earlier tariffs. And any measure to roll back the tariffs would need the president’s signature, leaving opponents in Congress with little likelihood of reining in his levies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that it isn’t appropriate for Congress to “jump in” a handful of weeks into the administration’s tariff policy, saying at an Axios event that “the executive has a broad array of authority that’s been recognized over the years” on trade. But he suggested limited openness to stepping in down the road.
“If it gets close to where the imbalance is there, then we would step in,” Johnson said, while adding that the first step would be for him to call the president to discuss the concerns. “But right now I think ultimately this policy is going to achieve the desired outcome and it’s going to be good for the country, and so we’re applauding that.”
Still, anxieties continued to run high over the economic impact of the tariffs. And economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2025, the Commerce Department reported in its estimate of the nation’s gross domestic product Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday following the GDP report that “the tariff issue is one that’s probably going to take some time to realize the results and the benefits from.”
“Overall, the things we’re going to be doing to support a healthy economy, on taxes and regulations and energy, are going to have a positive impact long term,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said. “The tariff issue is something that’s, like I said, it’s an open question, but we’re giving them some space to negotiate and see if they can get some good deals.”