Trump threatens primaries after 6 House Republicans vote to undo tariffs
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President Donald Trump is threatening to back his election opponents against the six House Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to roll back tariffs on Canada.
The president sent an ominous warning to Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate just before his agenda suffered a major blow at the Capitol on Wednesday evening.
“Any Republican, in the House or Senate, who votes against TARIFFS will face serious consequences come election time, and that includes primaries!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
He argued that the trade deficit had been significantly reduced as U.S. financial markets reached significant highs due to his tariff policies.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters and members of the media at Mar-a-Lago February 1, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
“Plus, TARIFFS have brought us great national security because the mere mention of the word gets countries to agree to our strongest wishes,” Trump continued.
“TARIFFS have brought us economic and national security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying that privilege.”
Democrats successfully pushed through a measure to overturn Trump’s national emergency at the northern border, using a mechanism to force a vote over the objections of the House majority leadership, called a privileged resolution.
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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 issue. It went 219-211.
Rep. Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, attends a news conference at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, July 17, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
However, it is unclear what impact Trump’s threat will have.
Newhouse and Bacon are not running in the 2026 midterm elections, and Trump is already supporting a primary challenger against Massie.
Kiley, whose district has been severely affected by California Democrats’ new congressional map, has not yet said whether or where he will run for reelection.
He told Fox News Digital when asked for a response to Trump: “It was a resolution regarding the emergency declared by the president regarding fentanyl coming from Canada. Congress has an obligation under the National Emergencies Act to evaluate every six months whether the emergency still exists.
Both Fitzpatrick and Hurd are highly regarded incumbents in their districts, which are top targets for Democrats in November.
Hurd told Fox News Digital that his constituents are “directly affected by these policies.”
“Today’s vote rests above all on the Constitution. Article I gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign countries and impose tariffs. Over time, Congress has delegated limited authority to the executive branch, particularly in matters involving national emergencies. But these delegations were never intended to serve as a permanent vehicle for sweeping, long-term trade policy,” he also said.
“If we standardize broad emergency trade powers today, we should expect a future president – from either party – to rely on the same authority in a way that many of us would strongly oppose. Institutional consistency is important. The Constitution does not change based 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 additional 25% tariffs on most products from Canada and Mexico. Energy from Canada was subject to an additional 15% tariff.
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech in Quebec City on January 22, 2026, following his recent participation in 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’ refusal to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs to the United States.
Opponents of Trump’s tariff strategy have criticized his measures against Canada in particular, arguing that they unfairly harm one of the United States’ closest allies 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 the state of emergency was issued, and that the drug continued to kill Americans.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have voted to reject Trump’s tariff strategy in the past, despite similar warnings from the president.
