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President Donald Trump is threatening to back election challengers against the six House Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to reverse his tariffs on Canada.
The president sent out an ominous warning to GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate just before his agenda suffered a blow on Capitol Hill Wednesday evening.
“Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
He argued that the trade deficit was reduced significantly while U.S. financial markets hit significant high points because of his tariff policies.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS COULD BE UNDONE BY ONE CONSERVATIVE DOCTRINE: ‘LIFE OR DEATH’
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters and members of the media at Mar-a-Lago on February 1, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
“In addition, TARIFFS have given us Great National Security because the mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes,” Trump continued.
“TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.”
Democrats successfully got a vote on a measure to reverse Trump’s national emergency at the northern border using a mechanism for forcing votes over the objections of House majority leadership called a privileged resolution.
TRUMP’S SIGNATURE TARIFFS HANG ON KEY QUESTION ABOUT CONGRESS’ POWER BEFORE SUPREME COURT
The six Republicans who voted in favor of the measure are Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.
One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted with the majority of Republicans on the matter. It passed 219-211.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, attends a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, July 17, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
It’s not clear how much impact Trump’s threat will have, however.
Both Newhouse and Bacon are not running for re-election in the 2026 midterms, and Trump is already endorsing a primary challenger against Massie.
Kiley, whose district was severely impacted by California Democrats’ new congressional map, has not yet said whether he will run for re-election or where he will do it.
He told Fox News Digital when asked for a response to Trump, “This was a resolution regarding the emergency declared by the president over fentanyl from Canada. Congress has an obligation under the National Emergencies Act to evaluate every six months if the emergency still exists. Canada has now significantly cracked down on fentanyl, so there’s no basis to extend the emergency another six months.”
Fitzpatrick and Hurd are both well-liked incumbents in their districts, which are top targets for Democrats come November.
Hurd told Fox News Digital that his constituents were “directly affected by these policies.”
“Today’s vote is grounded first and foremost in the Constitution. Article I gives Congress the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations and to levy tariffs. Over time, Congress has delegated limited authority to the Executive Branch, particularly in matters involving national emergencies. But those delegations were never intended to serve as a permanent vehicle for sweeping, long-term trade policy,” he also said.
“If we normalize broad emergency trade powers today, we should expect that a future president—of either party—will rely on the same authority in ways many of us would strongly oppose. Institutional consistency matters. The Constitution does not shift depending on who occupies the White House. My responsibility is to defend the separation of powers regardless of political convenience.”
Trump signed an executive order in February 2025, enacting an additional 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Energy from Canada was subject to an additional 15% tariff.
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers remarks in Quebec City, Quebec, on Jan. 22, 2026, following his recent participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (Renaud Philippe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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At the time, the White House said it was punishment for those countries’ unwillingness to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.
Opponents of Trump’s tariff strategy have criticized his moves against Canada in particular, arguing it was unjustly harming one of the closest allies of the U.S. and trading partners to the detriment of Americans themselves.
But Republicans who voted against the legislation pointed out that Trump said the fentanyl crisis was the reason for issuing the emergency in the first place, and said the drug was still killing Americans.
The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have voted to rebuke Trump’s tariff strategy in the past despite similar warnings from the president.
