Five Republicans in the Senate bucked their party to join a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's tariffs against Brazil on Tuesday evening, according to CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju.
The defecting Republicans included Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
The measure, which passed 52-48, is all but certain to go nowhere as Republicans in the House of Representatives are expected to ignore it.
However, it comes amid widespread bipartisan discontent and a general split in the Republican caucus over Trump's moves to unilaterally slap tariffs on virtually every other country on an "emergency" basis.
Shortly before the vote, Paul spoke to Raw Story, saying, “I will vote to end the emergency. Emergencies are like war, famine, tornadoes. Not liking someone's tariffs is not an emergency. It's an abuse of the emergency power, and it's Congress abdicating their traditional role in taxes.”
As all this is going on, the Supreme Court is set to take up a review of whether it is permissible for Trump to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which could significantly limit Trump's current trade policy.
