House Republicans have reportedly inserted language into a procedural measure that would effectively prevent the chamber from voting on resolutions to curtail U.S. President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs unilaterally, a move that Democratic lawmakers condemned as spineless.
"This is cowardice of a kind our predecessors in this body frankly could not have imagined, and it is a gross betrayal of their constituents," Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said in a statement ahead of the planned vote, which is expected to take place late Wednesday afternoon.
The vote will come after Trump announced on his social media platform that he is pausing for 90 days the higher "reciprocal tariffs" he announced last week, while leaving in place the 10% universal tariffs on imports. One exception to the 90-day pause is China, which Trump said will face a 125% tariff "effective immediately."
Trump's decision to pause some of his tariffs came amid mounting backlash within the U.S. and abroad, including from Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
On Tuesday, a group of House Democrats led by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) introduced a privileged resolution that, if passed, would terminate the national emergency Trump declared on April 2 in order to impose his sweeping tariffs, which are unpopular with the American public.
Privileged resolutions in the House typically must receive floor consideration within two legislative days. But the language that House Republicans included in the procedural measure would "turn off privilege for any resolution dealing with the April 2 trade emergency," Punchbowl's Jake Sherman reported Wednesday.
The provision states that each day between April 9 and September 30 of this year "shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622) with respect to a joint resolution terminating a national emergency declared by the president on April 2, 2025."
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has vocally criticized Trump's tariff scheme, ripped House Republicans for shielding the president by declaring that "days don't exist anymore."
"They have passed a rule saying that, you know, not that day is night, but the days don't exist at all, that we aren't going to have any calendar days, because miraculously, by rule, we have decreed there are no days," said Paul, who earlier this week joined a group of Senate Democrats in introducing a privileged resolution that would end Trump's emergency declaration.
Beyer said Wednesday that a vote for the House GOP rule "is a vote for Trump's tariffs."
"Anyone who claims to want to retake congressional authority over trade and tariffs must vote against this rule," he added.
The rule vote, if successful, would pave the way for consideration of the House GOP's budget resolution, which would advance the party's plan to slash taxes for the rich while cutting Medicaid and other key federal assistance programs.
During a fundraising event on Tuesday, Trump instructed House Republicans to blindly support his policy agenda.
"Close your eyes and get there," the president said, a message directed at the handful of Republicans who have wavered on supporting the budget resolution.