Thom Tillis. Mitch McConnell. Lisa Murkowski. Susan Collins. Rand Paul.
Those are the five Republican Senators who crossed party lines to vote with Democrats on S.J.Res. 81, a “joint resolution terminating the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Brazil,” repealing the 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports. The bill passed 52-48, and it would need to pass the House to reach Donald Trump’s desk. That’s unlikely, and even if it did, the president would veto it. Essentially, it was pointless, but Kaine claimed he was sending the president a message.
“I’m against tariffs generally, unless they’re used very specifically,” he said ahead of the vote. “But I’m also against letting presidents just invent a reason to use emergency powers to do all kinds of things without coming to Congress.”
He added, “I did learn in the, in the first Trump term that the president is responsive to things like this. When he sees Republicans starting to vote against his policies, even in small numbers, that makes an impression on him and can often cause him to alter his behavior.”
McConnell also released a statement ahead of the vote: “Tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive. The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history, but the rule.”
🚨NEW — Four Republicans in the senate just voted with Democrats to end Trump’s tariffs on imports from Brazil.
Mitch McConnell
Thom Tillis
Rand Paul
Lisa Murkowski
Susan Collins pic.twitter.com/OkbwLhSQcK
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 28, 2025
The bill was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) late last month and co-sponsored by Paul, along with Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Side note: Whether it’s blowing up the boats of narco-terrorists or keeping the government shut down, Paul sure is cozying up with Democrats a lot lately.
Kaine also said ahead of the vote: “The emergency, with respect to Brazil, the unusual and extreme emergency that threatens the United States, that emanates in whole or in part outside the United States, is the Brazilian decision to prosecute Donald Trump’s friend. How is that an emergency?”
He was referring to the country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Trump praised Bolsonaro during his recent trip to Malaysia while sitting next to Brazil’s current left-wing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro and Lula are political rivals to say the least. (The Spanish caption on the X post below reads “Lula’s reaction when they ask Trump about Bolsonaro.”)
La reacción de Lula cuando preguntan a Trump sobre Bolsonaro:pic.twitter.com/sA4QcQFOL1
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) October 26, 2025
Trump imposed the 50% tariffs on goods like oil, coffee, and steel in July, via executive order, declaring a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Trump administration stated, “Members of the Government of Brazil are also politically persecuting a former President of Brazil, which is contributing to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Brazil, to politically motivated intimidation in that country, and to human rights abuses.”
It’s a great time to become a PJ Media VIP member. Right now, we’re running a Schumer Shutdown Sale. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership. That’s just $12.74 for the entire year. Click here to get started.
