Trump Warns Republicans Will ‘Suffer The Consequences’ If They Vote Against Tariffs

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump on Feb. 12 warned Republican lawmakers they will face consequences if they vote against his tariff agenda, after a handful of GOP lawmakers sided with Democrats to pass a measure this week.

“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 said in a post on Truth Social.

The president said that the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 markets have reached new highs in the midst of the tariff policies that he imposed last year under an emergency 1977 provision.

“The mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes. TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege,” he added.

Trump wrote in a separate post on Truth Social that Canada has taken advantage of the United States on trade and border security. With the tariffs, Trump said that the United States can have an advantage over its northern neighbor.

Several House Republicans on Feb. 11 voted to overturn an executive order that imposed tariffs on Canada, siding with nearly every Democratic lawmaker in the lower congressional chamber to pass the measure. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), is now being considered by the Senate.

Last year, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in a bid to curb the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States. The vote in the House on Feb. 11 was the first time the congressional chamber has formally offered a vote on the policy.

Despite the House’s vote to pass the rebuke of the Canadian tariffs, it is unlikely to become law. It would take two-thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome an expected Trump veto, and most Republicans have been unwilling to oppose the Trump administration’s policies.

“Canada isn’t a threat, it’s our ally,” Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a House speech before the vote.

Trump warned last month on social media that he could impose more significant tariffs on Canada if the country makes a trade deal with China.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing last month to bolster trade ties with the Chinese communist regime.

Carney has said Canada has “no intention of doing that with China or any other nonmarket economy” and added that “what we have done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”

After his second term started in January 2025, Trump ordered 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada. In August 2025, he signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 percent for all products not covered by the U.S.–Mexico–Canada trade agreement.

The administration’s tariffs are also being considered by the Supreme Court, which is set to issue a ruling on the policy this year.

One of the House Republicans who voted against the measure, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), told The Epoch Times after the vote that the high court will ultimately assess whether the tariffs are lawful or not.

“I think that we have a say in some of these issues, like tariffs on imports. That’s Congress’s realm,” he said, adding that his Washington state district has many Canadian-owned businesses.