GOP-led House set to vote on rescinding Trump’s Canada tariffs
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while aboard Air Force One, February 6, 2026 en route to Palm Beach, Florida. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — After Tuesday night’s embarrassing defeat for Speaker Mike Johnson at the hands of rebellious Republicans, the House is set to vote Wednesday evening on a Democratic-led resolution to rescind President Donald Trump’s tariffs imposed on Canada — which could result in a major rebuke of the president’s trade policies.
The legislation, led by the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, would force House lawmakers to go on the record for the first time on Trump’s tariffs and trade policy.
The measure seeks to end the emergency declaration Trump used to justify his Canada tariffs.
Even if the tariff vote clears the GOP-led House, Trump is likely to veto the measure. It’s unclear how the largely symbolic vote will fall given Speaker Johnson’s razor-thin majority.
Johnson argued on Fox Business Wednesday morning that Congress should not be getting in the way of Trump’s tariffs.
“I think it’s a big mistake. I don’t think we need to go down the road of trying to limit the president’s power while he is in the midst of negotiating America first trade agreements,” Johnson said, adding that tariffs have “done great for the economy.”
He pointed to the tariff case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court — arguing that Congress should allow that process to play out.
House Republican leaders have fought for a year to block such a tariff vote from hitting the House floor, but the failed rule vote Tuesday night opened the door to full House votes on overturning the president’s tariffs.
Three Republicans — Reps. Kevin Kiley, Don Bacon and Thomas Massie — bucked their own party to defeat the procedural effort that failed by a vote of 214-217.
Bacon posted on X Wednesday, “Congress has Article One Constitutional responsibilities on tariffs. We cannot & should not outsource our responsibilities. As an old fashioned Conservative I know tariffs are a tax on American consumers. I know some disagree. But this debate and vote should occur in the House.”
Even if the House passes the resolution the matter would need to go back to the Senate.
Last October, the Senate voted on similar resolutions to cancel some of Trump’s tariffs.
At the time, some Senate Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke the president’s trade policy.
The Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is visible in the early morning hours, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Congress returns from its two-week recess early this week — thrusting lawmakers back into the debate surrounding the Iran war as the President Donald Trump’s strategy faces continued scrutiny.
House and Senate Democrats plan to force separate votes in both chambers on Iran war powers resolutions this week. These resolutions would call on the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Iran or any part of the Iranian government or military unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force is enacted.
Previously these efforts have narrowly failed, but as the conflict drags on and lawmakers continue to face questions about the president’s actions, additional Republicans could decide to support the efforts.
Expulsion votes possible for four lawmakers The House could move as early as this week to expel several members of Congress.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said she will force a vote to expel Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., next week amid allegations of sexual assault. Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales could also face a similar vote after he admitted to having an affair with a former staffer. And Florida Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is expected to face an expulsion vote, likely following a House Ethics Committee sanction hearing on April 21. The congresswoman was indicted on charges of stealing $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, which she is accused of laundering to support her 2021 congressional campaign.
Expelling a member of Congress — which is a rare occurrence — requires a two-thirds majority vote, a higher threshold than the simple majority needed to pass most legislation. Only six lawmakers in U.S. history have been expelled, including George Santos in 2023.
As the expulsion resolutions stack up, Democrats are also clamoring for the expulsion of Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills, who has faced his own allegations of misconduct.
Speaker Mike Johnson has previously been opposed to expulsion efforts and has argued that lawmakers deserve due process.
Awaiting Johnson’s next move on DHS funding Lawmakers return as the Department of Homeland Security’s partial shutdown drags on — hitting Day 66 on Monday when the Senate returns to session.
The partial shutdown is the longest in U.S. history.
Johnson has not yet acted on the Senate’s DHS funding bill, which stripped out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
It’s not clear what Johnson’s next move will be to attempt to reopen the agency, as he balances threats to the gavel against an arduous path to fully fund DHS’ breadth of agencies via reconciliation.
The Senate plans to move forward with a narrow budget reconciliation bill to fund ICE and CPB for the next three years with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham leading the charge, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
Trump said on Friday that he met with senators Graham and John Barrasso to discuss the matter.
“Reconciliation is ON TRACK, and we are moving FAST and FOCUSED in keeping our Border SECURE, and getting funding to the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department to continue our incredible SUCCESS at MAKING AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!” Trump wrote on his social media platform on Friday.
While reconciliation is a lengthy process that sidesteps the filibuster, Trump has demanded that the bill land on his desk by June 1 — an enormous challenge for Republicans navigating small margins in both chambers.
As the next legislative blitz approaches, House Republicans get a smidgeon of relief with the arrival of Rep.-elect Clay Fuller, who won a special election in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District earlier this month to fill the seat once occupied by Marjorie Taylor Greene. Fuller is expected to take the oath of office during the House’s first vote series on Tuesday, April 14.
The addition means that Johnson can afford to lose two GOP votes with all members voting and present.
Cabinet members defend their budgets Trump’s FY2027 budget requests also take center stage as several Cabinet secretaries and administration officials are slated to testify before lawmakers including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Director of the United States Office of Management and Budge Russ Vought, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Secret Service Director Sean Curran and more.
Bipartisan backlash over Bondi While first lady Melania Trump brought the saga around convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein back into the headlines, the GOP-led House Oversight Committee is not slated to hold any depositions this week as part of their ongoing investigation into Epstein. The Department of Justice said former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not appear for a closed-door deposition with the committee on Tuesday, April 14 — which has prompted bipartisan backlash from lawmakers on the committee. The next scheduled deposition is expected April 30.
Conservatives present challenge for Johnson on FISA House Republican leadership are also aiming to put a clean extension of FISA Section 702, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, on the floor for a vote sometime this week. The federal law sets out rules and procedures for gathering foreign intelligence through electronic surveillance, physical searches, pen registers and more.
Johnson and Trump have publicly backed a clean extension through October 2027. However, several House conservatives do not support a clean extension — presenting Johnson a challenge to pass the bill relying on help from Democrats, who are mostly reluctant to help Republicans and Trump accomplish anything legislatively.
Once the House passes FISA legislation, the Senate will need to take up the measure by April 20 — when the law is set to expire.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on April 7, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst – Pool/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance is in Hungary on Tuesday, meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of President Donald Trump, ahead of the country’s April 12 election which could threaten Orbán’s long hold on power.
Although Vance has downplayed the idea that he traveled to Hungary to shore up support for Orbán, the upcoming election in the country was the centerpiece of Vance’s remarks during his joint press conference in Budapest on Tuesday, where he praised the authoritarian leader.
“And of course, I want to help as much as I possibly can, the prime minister as he faces this election season, which I believe is happening in just about a week, the election to elect the next Prime Minister of Hungary,” Vance said.
Orbán, who is seeking his fifth term, faces criticism over the decline of democracy in the country as he and his allies have destroyed checks and balances and taken control of the country’s media.
He faces a strong challenge from opposition leader Peter Magyar, who was once part of the prime minister’s party, but launched his own in 2024 and began attacking Orbán’s Fidesz party over alleged corruption.
The authoritarian leader has long been a close ally of Trump and was among the first European leaders to endorse him in the 2016 presidential election. Orbán’s nationalist party has become a model for MAGA populists, particularly for its aggressive stance on immigration.
Orban met with Trump three times in 2024, one of those visits coming after Trump won the 2024 election. Orbán has spoken several times at the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC.
Most recently, Orbán, also an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited Trump at the White House in November, where he received a special exemption from sanctions imposed on Russian oil because of its invasion of Ukraine. Hungary is a major importer of Russian energy and the sanctions would have impacted the country’s already weakening economy.
Vance on Tuesday said that Orbán, along with Trump, has done the most to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
”The war would have never started … if President Trump had been president four years ago, but now that it has started, probably the two leaders who have done the most to actually end that destructive conflict have been Donald J. Trump and Viktor Orban in Hungary,” Vance said.
While Hungary is a member of the European Union, Orbán has repeatedly attacked it and clashed with his European counterparts on several issues, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, using his veto power to try to block the EU’s efforts to support Ukraine.
Trump has already endorsed Orbán in his reelection bid and has praised him, calling him “strong and powerful.”
During his remarks, Orbán thanked Trump and Vance for standing by Hungary over the past few years.
”We owe gratitude to President Trump and Vice President Vance for standing by Hungary during the past years, the United States of America is the strongest country in the world, and I am happy to say that they are our allies today, the peace and the security of Hungary, therefore, is guaranteed,” Orbán said.
Vance’s trip to Hungary follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit in February, during which he reinforced the Trump administration’s support of the embattled Orbán.
In early 2025, Vance delivered blistering remarks at the Munich Security Conference, where he made the argument to European lawmakers to pay attention to the interests of conservative voters, take stronger actions on immigration and that Europe was moving towards censorship and away from Democracy.
Vance’s remarks were not well received by many European allies, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius saying at the time that it appeared that Vance was comparing parts of Europe to “authoritarian regimes,” calling it “unacceptable.”
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A Democratic senator says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem provided false testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In her appearance before the committee on Tuesday, Noem was asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., whether her adviser Corey Lewandowski, who is serving as a special government employee, has any role in approving DHS contracts, and she said no.
“Evidence suggests that your testimony was false. Internal DHS records show that Mr. Lewandowski has personally approved contracts at DHS, including, but not limited to, a multimillion-dollar contract,” according to a letter Blumenthal sent to Noem on Wednesday. “And current and former DHS employees have stated that Mr. Lewandowski’s signature is a green light for money to be transmitted to contractors.”
Blumenthal sent the letter on Wednesday night, after Noem’s testimony in front the House Committee.
In a follow-up appearance before a House committee on Wednesday, Rep. Jared Moskowitz asked Noem if she would like to correct her answer from Tuesday.
“What I would say is that he is an adviser to the Department of Homeland Security,” she said.
Sources have told ABC News that Lewandowski is Noem’s de facto chief of staff, despite having a 130-day cap on being able to work at the department, due to his status as a special government employee.
According to multiple sources, Lewandowski and Noem both approve contracts and “nothing” gets to the secretary without Lewandowski’s approval.
Oftentimes, Lewandowski travels with the secretary to her public events, and on multiple occasions ABC News has seen Lewandowski behind the scenes at events the secretary is speaking at.
When asked by two Democratic representatives if the two were romantically linked, Noem did not deny it and instead called the two Democratic members’ line of questioning “garbage.”
Lewandowski and Noem have both previously denied any romantic relationship. Both are married to other people.
The department didn’t immediately respond to the letter, or about Lewandowski’s role at DHS.
