JD Vance breaks tie to save Trump tariffs as economy sees first decline in 3 years

The U.S. Senate narrowly turned down a bipartisan resolution on Wednesday that was meant to stop President Donald Trump’s widespread global tariffs. This vote happened just hours after the Commerce Department announced the first economic decline in three years.

The final vote was 49 to 49, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie, according to Reuters. This came after another close vote of 49 to 50, which stopped any further discussion of the measure. The resolution was an attempt to cancel the national emergency declaration that Trump used to put 10% tariffs on various global trading partners and much higher matching tariffs on 57 others, including the European Union.

The failure of this resolution is a big win for the Trump administration, even as worries about the economy grow. AP news reported the economic decline as a 0.3% drop for the first quarter of 2025, is linked to the disruptions caused by the tariffs. Businesses rushed to bring in imports before the higher costs took effect, leading to a sudden increase in imports and a slowdown in economic growth.

JD Vance ends Senate vote on tariffs

The Senate vote showed a sharp divide between the parties. While all Democrats and Independents present voted to block the tariffs, only three Republicans Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined them.

This was different from a previous Senate vote weeks earlier, where four Republicans sided with Democrats to pass a similar bill targeting tariffs on Canada. The absence of Senator Mitch McConnell, who had voted against the Canadian tariffs before, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse helped ensure the resolution failed this time.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune used a procedural move to stop any future vote on the resolution. After the initial tied vote, Thune called for a vote to end any further attempts to reconsider the resolution, making sure the tariffs would stay in place. Vice President Vance’s tie-breaking vote sealed the resolution’s defeat.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Republicans, saying they now “own the Trump tariffs and higher costs on America’s middle-class families.” He also pointed to the economic decline as a warning to Republicans.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon and one of the resolution’s main supporters, argued that Congress has the authority to regulate global trade and should not stay passive on the tariff issue. Senator Collins, while admitting the resolution wasn’t perfect, said the close vote shows unease with the President’s trade plan and the complaints employers are making about the tariffs.

Senator Paul, who helped introduce the resolution, said the vote was an important debate to have, especially with the risk of more economic trouble ahead. Despite concerns, some Republicans defended Trump’s tariffs and said they were willing to give the President more time to show they would work. Others, like Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, supported different legislation to give Congress more control over tariffs but voted against this resolution, calling it a political move.

The White House had earlier threatened to veto the resolution, saying it would weaken national and economic security. President Trump has brushed off worries that the tariffs could cause a recession, blaming any economic problems China faces because of the tariffs. He also downplayed the importance of imports from China.