G.O.P. Again Cedes Power on Tariffs to Avoid Crossing Trump

The Republican-led House moved anew on Tuesday to relinquish Congress’s power to weigh in on President Trump’s tariffs, even as Democrats in the Senate prepared to force votes challenging his trade war.

The maneuver by House Republicans effectively stripped lawmakers of the ability to force action on lifting the tariffs until March 31, 2026, extending a prohibition they initially imposed in the spring to spare their members a politically tough vote.

It came after Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, tried to surprise Republicans with a bid to block the president’s tariffs on Brazil. His measure was swiftly defeated, and within hours, G.O.P. leaders moved to head off a similar vote. That effort, tucked into a routine procedural measure, passed on Tuesday afternoon almost entirely along party lines.

It was the latest instance in which House Republicans, many of whom have spent much of their career opposing tariffs as a matter of principle, have given up their power over trade. In March, Republicans pushed through a similar procedural measure that made it impossible for lawmakers to use a law governing presidential emergencies to challenge Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. The next month, they did so again. On Tuesday, they attached one to a measure needed to debate a series of bills to impose stricter criminal penalties in the District of Columbia.

In all three cases, Republicans have used an arcane legislative maneuver to avoid tariff votes. It involves declaring the calendar frozen until a given date, which effectively renders useless a law that allows any lawmaker to insist on a quick floor vote on a proposal to end an emergency declared by the president.

Republicans defended their strategy to short-circuit any such vote, making the case that Mr. Trump’s trade policies were working.

“Access to the American economy is a privilege, not a right,” said Representative Nick Langworthy, Republican of New York. “President Trump is using tariffs as leverage to reduce reciprocal barriers, safeguard our national security and level the global playing field for American producers and manufacturers. And it’s working.”

But some Republicans clearly were uncomfortable with the move. A handful of them briefly revolted over the measure and voted no, bringing the chamber to a standstill as leaders rushed to corral the votes necessary to pass it.

Among those who initially opposed the measure but were persuaded to change their votes was Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, who said he initially did so “because Article One of the Constitution grants Congress authority over tariffs, and tariffs are a tax on American consumers.”

But he said his decision to change his vote came after receiving commitments from Republican leaders over how the chamber would handle tariff policy going forward, including a new working group on tariffs and changes to an upcoming vote on the matter.

Democrats have repeatedly denounced the drive by Republicans to avoid tariff votes, pointing to it as another instance in which they are willingly ceding authority to the White House.

“I’m continually disappointed in some of my colleagues who so often talk about the importance of Congress reasserting its role in trade, but when the cards are down, give Trump unchecked power to impose tariffs for whatever reason he wants without so much as a vote in Congress,” said Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee.

Representative Kevin Kiley of California, one of the three Republicans who joined all Democrats in opposing the measure, criticized the move as an abdication of congressional authority.

“If we’re saying that Congress is not going to be able to assert itself on this issue, that in my view is a problem,” Mr. Kiley said after the vote. Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana also voted no.

Representatives Jay Obernolte and Tom McClintock, both California Republicans, initially voted no but flipped to support the measure.

Democrats in the Senate, where the minority has more tools at its disposal, have made more headway in forcing tariff votes through the national emergencies statute. Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, intends to bring forward two resolutions in the coming days to terminate the emergencies Mr. Trump declared to justify tariffs on Canada and Brazil.

He is joined by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of a handful of Republicans who have broken with their party to support previous Democratic-led attempts to challenge Mr. Trump’s tariffs.

“I have been opposed to rule by emergency, no matter who the president is, Republican or Democrat,” Mr. Paul said in an interview.

Mr. Paul says his Republican colleagues had “faded into the woodwork” on trade, and that they may feel differently under a Democratic administration. “I think it’s good to be consistent no matter who the president is,” he added.

“It is time to end President Trump’s senseless trade war with Canada, one of our closest allies and top trading partners,” Mr. Kaine said. “It is our responsibility as Congress to step in when the president abuses their authority.”

Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, another backer of the resolutions, warned that Mr. Trump’s tariffs were having an outsize influence on her home state’s economy.

“The president cannot abuse his power to continue an unjustified trade war with one of our strongest allies,” she said. “Canada is Minnesota’s top trading partner, but the president’s tariffs are jeopardizing that relationship, and adding costs for Minnesota families.”

In April, four Republicans — Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Mr. Paul — joined Democrats in voting to terminate the emergency declaration underpinning Canadian tariffs.

That measure passed the Senate but stalled in the House, where Republican leaders have declined to bring it up and changes like the one made on Tuesday give rank-and-file lawmakers no ability to force the matter to the floor.