Four GOP senators join Democrats in passing Klobuchar’s resolution to undo Trump’s tariff on Canadian imports

WASHINGTON - A resolution that seeks to undo President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on most imports from Canada spearheaded by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and three other Democrats in the U.S. Senate, narrowly passed out of the upper chamber Wednesday evening.

The vote came just hours after Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners earlier on Wednesday.

Four Republican senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky; Susan Collins of Maine; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; and former Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — joined Democrats in voting for the resolution. That was enough to pass the measure despite Trump taking to Truth Social earlier in the week urging them to oppose it.

“The fact that we’ve gotten this far and now have Republicans positive about it and the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] endorsing it, shows how much pushback is starting to gain momentum on the tariffs,” Klobuchar said in an interview ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

Klobuchar said that any tariffs on Canada would especially hurt neighboring Minnesota.

“This resolution is about drawing a line in the sand and saying you cannot abuse your emergency powers to start an unjustified trade war,” Klobuchar said. “You cannot abuse your emergency powers for one of the finest relationships in the world, the relationship between America and Canada, and you cannot drive up prices, eliminate jobs and put in place a national sales tax.”

It’s unclear what’s next for the resolution and if it will make it to the Republican-controlled U.S. House floor for a vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer could not immediately be reached for comment on the resolution and its prospects in the lower chamber.

But ahead of the Senate’s vote, Emmer praised Trump’s tariffs during a telephone town hall.

“The markets will come around. The markets will stabilize now, I believe this will go quickly, now that people know what this is,” Emmer said, adding that Trump is still giving countries “a deal” and trying to “improve the environment for the American companies and American workers.”

Klobuchar said she spoke with Trump about the Canadian tariffs during his inauguration lunch in January, and in recent weeks, she has spoken with his Department of Commerce and Department of Agriculture secretaries and trade representative as well. But she emphasized that Trump will ultimately have the final say.

“People are so mad right now in Canada, and so it affects our whole relationship. And for Minnesota, they are the number one trading partner — the number two, number three and number four, added together, which include Mexico and China, do not equal Canada for us. And so we are especially hurt by all of this.”

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