Senate Democrats to force vote aimed at blocking Trump’s tariffs on Brazil

Washington — The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday evening on a measure that would block President Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, as Democrats seek support from a handful of Republicans willing to buck the president. 

Led by Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, the resolution would terminate the national emergency that the administration is using to impose 50% tariffs on goods from Brazil.

Kaine called the emergency “unusual and extreme,” accusing the president of putting the order in place due to the “decision to prosecute Donald Trump’s friend.” He was referring to the prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison in September for attempting a coup in 2022.

“If that’s an emergency, then anything is an emergency, and any president can make up anything and call it an emergency and then use massive powers to impose regulations or evade regulations,” Kaine told reporters Tuesday. 

In July, Mr. Trump declared a national emergency with respect to “recent policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil” that he said constitute an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” The move came during Bolsonaro’s trial.

The president cited a law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in his order. The act gives any senator the authority to force a vote to challenge the move, effectively bypassing Senate leadership. The resolutions need a simple majority to pass.

The effort is largely symbolic, since it would need to be taken up in the GOP-controlled House. House Republican leaders have taken steps to prevent lawmakers from forcing a vote on the president’s tariffs in the lower chamber. 

The push in the Senate follows a vote in April, when four Republicans joined Democrats to approve a measure aimed at blocking the Canada tariffs. Those Republicans were Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and former GOP leader Mitch McConnell, along with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican who cosponsored the legislation. Later that month, an effort aimed at blocking Mr. Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs fell short, with two senators who had previously backed the tariff measure absent from the vote.

Kaine said he would force additional votes on Canadian tariffs and global tariffs throughout the week as he pushes back on the administration and puts pressure on Senate Republicans. 

“So the votes are about tariffs, and they’re about the economic destruction of tariffs, but they are also really about, how much will we let a president get away with?” Kaine said. “Do my colleagues have a gag reflex or not, in terms of powers that constitutionally are handed to Congress?”

Whether Republicans support the measure remains to be seen. On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance joined Senate Republicans for lunch to discuss the tariff issue. 

“The point that I made to my Republican colleagues, recognizing that there’s a diversity of opinions about it, is that the tariffs give us the ability to put American workers first,” Vance told reporters after the meeting. “They force American industry to reinvest in the United States of America, instead of a foreign country. They’re also incredible leverage for the president of the United States in negotiating these trade deals overseas.”

Asked about the votes, GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters that “most of it is a messaging exercise,” though he noted that he’s considering voting for the effort to block the Brazil tariffs. 

Kaine said he learned during the first Trump administration that “the president is responsive to things like this.”

“When he sees Republicans starting to vote against his policies, even in small numbers, that makes an impression on him and can often cause him to alter his behavior,” he said.