Tariffs

Joe Lancaster | 2.11.2026 4:15 PM

Throughout his second term in office, President Donald Trump has applied tariffs on other countries seemingly at whim. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives narrowly defeated House Resolution 1042, which would have prevented members of the chamber from challenging Trump's tariffs.

"With the Supreme Court expected to rule by summer on the constitutionality of delegating tariff authority to the President, I think it would be unwise to alter the status quo until we know the full scope and implications of the decision, at which time Congress can address the matter fully," Rep. Tom McClintock (R–Calif.) said in a statement about H.R. 1042. "Accordingly, I support the President and I support the rule."

Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) apparently used similar language in a meeting with House Republicans behind closed doors, saying they should wait on the Supreme Court's ruling. (Just last month, Johnson said he had "no intention" of bringing the issue to a vote at all.)

Trump says the duties are necessary, and justified, to respond to national emergencies. But as Republicans were whipping votes to protect the president from their own oversight, he suggested that includes another world leader hurting his........

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