House Shuts Down IEEPA Votes, but Republicans Will Begin Tariff Discussions

The Republicans held the vote open longer than usual, and at one point, six Republicans were voting against this rule change. Because of members' absences, if one more Republican had voted with all the Democrats, the effort would have failed.

Two of the Republicans who switched sides said they did so because the House speaker said he would shorten the number of months that votes will remain blocked, and because the speaker will convene a Republican working group on tariff policy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was noncommittal about the scope of responsibilities of that working group in a brief hallway interview with International Trade Today on Sept. 17. "Let's see how it develops," he said.

The House had previously voted to prevent votes on Mexican and Canadian emergencies until the end of 2025, and to prevent votes on the reciprocal tariffs until Sept. 30. This rule also blocks a vote on the new 40% Brazil tariffs -- that hadn't been blocked before. This vote means no votes on any of those matters would be allowed until on or after April 1.

All the previous votes to prevent votes on emergency tariffs were tucked into rules, which are a procedural step on what bills will be voted for, and whether amendments would be allowed as part of those votes.

Both parties have used these tactics to avoid uncomfortable votes to end White House-declared emergencies.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was one of the Republicans who flipped from no to yes. In response to questions from International Trade Today, he shared an emailed statement that said putting these provisions to block votes on tariffs is not what rules are supposed to be used for.

The rule offered Sept. 16 "goes beyond the prerogative of the majority to decide what bills are taken to the floor. This resolution amends existing law to extend the authority of the President to impose tariffs until March 30. That makes this a substantive question of policy and the responsibility of individual members to pass judgment. Under the Constitution, the power to impose tariffs is a congressional power and needs to be restored to Congress," McClintock's statement said. "I ultimately voted yes only after the Speaker agreed: 1) To modify the extension to January 31 in a rule to be brought to the floor this week and 2) to immediately convene a working group within the Republican conference to address the tariff issue, including possible measures to modify existing policy and clarify Congress’s role in setting that policy."

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who has bucked the president's tariff policy repeatedly, issued a statement on his vote switch as well.

"I voted no initially because Article One of the Constitution grants Congress authority over tariffs, and tariffs are a tax on American consumers," he said. "After a lengthy discussion on the House floor with leadership, we secured two important commitments. First, Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, who oversees House tariff policy, will establish a working group that includes myself and other concerned members." The second was the promise of another rule vote on the tariff emergencies.

Rep. Jay Obernolte of California is the other Republican who switched his vote from no to yes. In a brief hallway interview Sept. 17, he said he didn't want to talk about the Republicans' internal discussion during the vote. He did say there are only "limited circumstances" for Congress' delegation of the authority to raise or lower tariffs to the president.

Reps. Kevin Kiley of California, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Victoria Spartz of Indiana are the Republicans who voted along with Democrats, rejecting the language to block a vote on the tariff emergencies.