In a bold rebuke to President Trump’s escalating trade war, the U.S. Senate voted 50-46 on October 29, 2025, to terminate the national emergency declaration that enabled steep tariffs on Canadian imports, now hovering at 35% on select goods and recently hiked by an additional 10% in retaliation for an Ontario ad quoting Ronald Reagan against protectionism. The resolution, forced by Democrats like Sen. Tim Kaine under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, passed with every Democrat in support and four Republicans crossing the aisle: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and notably, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. This marks the second such Senate vote this year, following an April tally, underscoring bipartisan frustration with Trump’s use of fentanyl flows from Canada—despite evidence pointing more to Mexico—as a pretext for punishing a key ally and trading partner whose exports total over $400 billion annually to the U.S.

The defecting Republicans embodied a mix of libertarian principle, regional self-interest, and institutional caution, but McConnell’s vote stood out as a thunderclap from the old guard. After 40 years in the Senate since his 1984 election, the 83-year-old McConnell—once Trump’s enabler in stacking the courts but now a vocal critic—argued the tariffs devastate Kentucky farmers and distillers reliant on cross-border trade, echoing his floor statement that such measures “pick fights with friends” amid threats from China. Murkowski and Collins, from border states Alaska and Maine, cited direct economic hits to fisheries, tourism, and potato growers, while Paul’s co-sponsorship hammered the constitutional overreach of unilateral executive tariffs. Yet, the measure’s path ends abruptly: the Republican-controlled House, which earlier this year barred votes on tariff challenges until March 2026, is poised to bury it, rendering the Senate’s action more symbolic saber-rattling than substantive check.

McConnell’s participation only amplifies the irony of his enduring presence in a body he once masterminded: after stepping down as GOP leader in February 2024 and announcing in February 2025 he won’t seek reelection in 2026—amid a cascade of health scares including multiple falls, a 2023 concussion, mid-speech freezes, and a recent wheelchair-assisted exit from the Capitol—the Turtle, as critics dub him, clings to his seat through January 2027, embodying Congress’s geriatric gridlock. Physically frail and mentally a relic of Reagan-era globalism, he votes against the very MAGA tariffs he once tolerated, highlighting the Senate’s dysfunction where octogenarians like him and Dianne Feinstein (before her 2023 passing) outlast fresh blood. He’s the poster child for term limits overdue, a swamp creature whose longevity mocks meritocracy, yet his tariff stance proves even washed-up fossils can occasionally defy the boss. Still, no Senate stunt halts America’s inexorable pull northward—manifest destiny whispers of Canadian conquest, tariffs or not, as the U.S. flexes toward continental dominion.