Congress failed to pass on Wednesday a measure seeking to undo President Donald Trump's tariffs. The vote was a 49-49 tie, with three GOP senators (Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins) joining all Democrats present in supporting the bill, which sought to end the national emergency declared by Trump to implement the tariffs.
Democrats were actually in a strong position to pass the bill. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, voiced support for the bill but were absent for the vote, which required a simple majority to pass.
However, despite some reported discontent among rank-and-file Democrats about the decision to not wait to have enough votes to pass the bill, the situation is largely seen as a winning scenario for the party. The vote was mostly symbolic as it likely wouldn't have passed in the Lower House, also controlled by the Republican Party.
Some consternation at Dem leadership right now among the rank-and-file, I’m told. Some asking why Dems agreed to schedule the vote for tonight when they already knew Sen. Whitehouse would be absent.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) April 30, 2025
On the other hand, this is a largely symbolic vote and Dems got the messaging… https://t.co/CTY648AF3C
Moreover, the GOP has added an obstacle for lawmakers seeking to file resolutions related to Trump's tariff policies, and the White House had already anticipated it would have vetoed it if it made it to the president's desk.
Trump has stood by his decision despite markets sliding and economists claiming the policy will plunge the U.S. into a recession, saying that the longer-term effects will be positive for the country. The president and top officials have also been anticipating deals with numerous countries, but have not disclosed details about who the most advanced negotiations are with and when the public could expect an announcement.
Trump appeared to acknowledge on Wednesday that consumer prices will rise due to tariffs but suggested Americans could simply shop less to combat them.
During a Cabinet meeting Trump defended his tariffs on China, some as high as 145%, claiming Chinese ships are "loaded up with stuff, much of which, not all of it, but much of which we don't need." The president's claim came as new GDP data showed the U.S. economy contracted by 0.3%.
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