WASHINGTON – Rep. Jeff Hurd was one of six House Republicans who, on Wednesday, voted to block tariffs against Canada, despite threats from President Donald Trump that centered on the upcoming election cycle.
The resolution, which challenged Trump’s national emergency declaration from February 2025 that resulted in tariffs being imposed on Canada, passed the GOP-led House 219-211. Hurd, along with Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., were the only Republican House members to vote for the resolution.
“If we normalize broad emergency trade powers today, we should expect that a future president – of either party – will rely on the same authority in ways many of us would strongly oppose,” Hurd said in a post on X shortly after the vote.
The emergency declaration and subsequent tariffs were a result of “gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs” coming over the northern border, according to a news release from the administration.
The vote from Hurd came shortly after a post by Trump on his social media platform Truth Social, which threatened any GOP representative or senator who went against his tariff policies.
“TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege,” Trump said on Truth Social shortly before the vote.
In defense of his decision, Hurd wrote on X that he felt that his constituents were negatively affected by Trump’s tariff policies. He added that agricultural producers and steel mills in his district have suffered from increased strain on supply lines and an unpredictable market, both a result of tariffs.
According to a January report from the North Dakota State University Agricultural Trade Monitor, tariffs on specifically fertilizer imports from U.S. trading partners have negatively affected agricultural producers, in part because of supply chain disruptions and uncertainty surrounding trade policy.
The threats by Trump come less than five months before the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 3, where Hurd will be challenged by Hope Scheppelman, a more MAGA-aligned Republican. Hurd convincingly defeated Ron Hanks, a strong supporter of Trump, in the last CD-3 Republican primary.
“The Constitution does not shift depending on who occupies the White House,” Hurd said on X. “My responsibility is to defend the separation of powers regardless of political convenience.”
Jake Mittleman, a junior at American University in Washington, D.C., is an intern for The Durango Herald. He can be reached at jmittleman@durangoherald.com.
