House Republicans break with Trump, blocking a bid to protect his tariff authority

Source: CBS News

Updated on: February 10, 2026 / 10:16 PM EST


Washington — A group of House Republicans defied leadership on Tuesday to sink a key procedural vote that would have barred lawmakers from overturning President Trump's sweeping global tariffs. Three Republicans joined all Democrats to defeat the effort, after GOP leaders delayed the vote by seven hours as they and the White House tried to sway holdouts.

In a party-line vote on Monday, the House Rules Committee approved language that would prevent members from bringing up resolutions to challenge Mr. Trump's tariffs through July 31. The language was attached to a procedural resolution — known as a rule — on unrelated legislation. Before a vote on final passage on the legislation, the House first had to approve the rule, which is typically passed by the majority party. Republicans, however, have a razor-thin majority and can only afford one defection during floor votes.

The move to insert language into the rule comes after a previous ban on resolutions disapproving of the tariffs expired in January, and as Democrats planned to force a vote on terminating Mr. Trump's tariffs on Canada this week.

"This isn't what rules are for," Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said Tuesday before the vote. "The rule is to bring bills to the floor and set the parameters for debate. The purpose is not to sneak in unrelated language that expands the power of leadership at the expense of our members."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-trump-tariffs-ban/