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US-China trade war
USPolitics

Trump faces rare pushback within his party over tariffs as polls slide

Pressure builds as Republican fractures emerge, a symbolic House vote on tariffs advances and a pivotal Supreme Court ruling looms

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (left) has repeatedly used procedural tactics to shield President Donald Trump from votes challenging his tariff policies, helping preserve Republican unity despite growing dissent. Photo: AP
Mark Magnierin New York

President Donald Trump faced noteworthy pushback over his signature tariff policy in the US Congress this week as his popularity slipped and more lawmakers in his party appeared willing to risk his wrath.

While the pushback is unlikely to result in any immediate concrete change to his aggressive tariff policy, which has roiled markets and upended global supply chains, it represents a striking challenge for a president who has lashed out at critics and otherwise maintained an iron grip on his party and the Republican majority in Congress.

“What a difference a day makes,” said Henrietta Treyz, co-founder of Veda Partners, a consultancy. “For the first time in nearly a year, Democrats and anti-tariff Republicans will be able to record their opposition and send a message of rebuke and opposition to the White House.”

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This comes as a landmark tariff decision by the Supreme Court could drop anytime between now and June over whether his use of emergency powers to justify wholesale import tariffs is constitutional, even as his trade policy becomes increasingly unpopular with voters.
Trump’s use of tariffs for leverage and chest-thumping reached an apex when he threatened tariffs of some 145 per cent against China last year before backing down and eventually reaching an uneasy trade truce in late October, during a sit-down in South Korea with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

‘We have a deal’: Trump claims breakthrough after ‘12 out of 10’ talks with Xi Jinping

‘We have a deal’: Trump claims breakthrough after ‘12 out of 10’ talks with Xi Jinping

The House of Representatives passed a largely symbolic measure on Wednesday by a vote of 219 to 211 as a handful of Republicans joined the Democratic minority on a resolution calling for an end to the tariffs that he imposed on Canada last year. The bill now goes to the Senate.

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