Speaker Johnson Loses Vote on House Rule That Would Have Blocked Votes on Trump’s Tariffs:
First, let me delve a bit into the Congressional weeds to set the stage for what happened tonight on the House floor. Trump’s questionable authority to impose his Tariffs is based on his phony declaration of a national emergency almost a year ago. 90 days (I think it’s 90, but I’m not sure) after such a declaration, Congress can take a vote to terminate the emergency and consequently end the Trump tariffs. Any member can call for a vote to end the emergency after 15 “Legislative” days from the end of the 90? Day period. However, back last Spring Johnson passed a House Rule to define these 15 Legislative days to be a period of calendar days extending to January 31, 2026. I know how weird that sounds, but the Constitution allows the House to establish its own rules by majority vote, no matter how crazy those rules might be.
That takes us to what happened tonight. Johnson put a Resolution on the House floor to extend the expired 15 Legislative days to July 31, 2026. But as reported by The Hill this happened:
A few GOP rebels on Tuesday issued a stunning rebuke of President Trump’s tariff regime, joining with Democrats to vote down legislation that would have banned members’ ability to call snap votes to repeal the tariffs.
The House voted 214-217 to block the rule, which would have also teed up votes for unrelated legislation later this week.
Republican Reps. Kevin Kiley (Calif.), Don Bacon (Neb.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) all opposed the rule, along with every Democrat. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was unable to win over the holdouts, despite delaying the vote from 1:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“I don’t like putting the important work of the House on pause, but Congress needs to be able to debate on tariffs,” Bacon wrote on X after the vote.
“Article I of the Constitution places authority over taxes and tariffs with Congress for a reason, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch. It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility. I also oppose using the rules votes to legislate. I want the debate and the right to vote on tariffs.”
Another Big Loss for the worst vote counting Speaker in House history! I know it’s only 3 Republicans who defied Trump and Johnson, but at least a few of them aren’t interested in Congress becoming a Russian rubber stamp Duma.
So what does this mean?
It means that Democrats can make “Privileged Motions” (privileged meaning the Speaker can’t prevent votes in such motions) to introduce and vote on resolutions to end Trump’s phony emergencies and their associated tariffs at any time. Look for that to happen early next week or sooner. The Senate has already passed such Resolutions.
Although some may consider this to be a small thing, it is an important first step in Congress re-asserting its Constitutional authority under Article I.
Good Night All!
