Listen To Story Above
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is rallying behind President Donald Trump’s authority to implement tariffs on Canadian imports, emphasizing the importance of supporting the administration’s efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking.
Thune plans to encourage senators to reject a resolution presented by Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine that seeks to end the president’s national emergency declaration regarding Canadian import tariffs, some of which are set to be implemented Wednesday. The Senate GOP leader is preparing to defend Trump’s emergency declaration as a crucial component of the administration’s strategy to combat fentanyl flowing into the United States from both Canadian and Mexican borders.
“If we’re serious about ending the fentanyl crisis in America, we need to address the entirety of the crisis,” Thune is expected to say on the Senate floor. “We’re not going to solve the problem by going after just part of it.”
“Ending this emergency declaration would tell the cartels that they should shift their focus to the northern border,” Thune is also expected to say. “I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution and ensure that President Trump has the tools he needs to combat the flow of fentanyl from all directions.”
The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on terminating the president’s emergency powers regarding Canadian import tariffs. However, the vote’s impact is limited since House GOP leadership has already included provisions in the recent stopgap funding bill preventing votes on resolutions that would terminate Trump’s emergency declaration concerning fentanyl and illegal immigration.
EXCLUSIVE: John Thune Comes Out Swinging Against Dem Effort (Tim Kaine Virginia) To Block Trump’s Canada Tariffs … ”Gotta get Trump, who cares how many Americans die from Fentanyl!” 🤨https://t.co/iQuLvdOJxW via @dailycaller
— Moni 💕 (@MoniFunGirl) April 1, 2025
On February 1, Trump declared a national emergency to impose 25% tariffs across the board on Canadian goods, with some energy import exemptions. The declaration cited narcotics trafficking, particularly fentanyl, across the northern border.
“The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),” Trump wrote in the declaration, citing in part Canada’s “growing footprint within international narcotics distribution.”
“A Super Bowl size group of Americans die each year from fentanyl that originates in communist China and works its way via the drug cartels in Mexico, through both Mexico and Canada, into the veins and stomachs of Americans to then die because of that,” White House trade advisor Peter Navarro previously told the Daily Caller, explaining how the Trump administration is using trade policy to combat the fentanyl crisis.
Recent data from Customs and Border Patrol reveals record-breaking fentanyl seizures of nearly 50,000 pounds over the past two fiscal years. The drug claimed approximately 75,000 lives in the United States during 2023, according to CDC statistics.
Following the Senate’s recent passage of legislation targeting fentanyl-related substances, Thune’s opposition to Kaine’s resolution aligns with Republican efforts to address drug trafficking across U.S. borders.
Donald Trump has dealt another blow to the UK economy. From next Wednesday, he will impose 25% tariffs on all foreign-manufactured cars imported into the U.S.
Motor vehicles are Britain's number one goods export to North America and will not be exempt from the new taxes pic.twitter.com/X5f6c2NmJ2
— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) March 27, 2025
“Democrats seem to want to take a step backward in that fight [against fentanyl],” Thune is expected to say on the Senate floor. “We would be wrong to view this as solely a southern border problem. The reality is that fentanyl production is growing in Canada.”
Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mark Warner have joined Kaine in leading the effort to terminate the Canada tariffs. Republican Senator Rand Paul, known for opposing tariffs and criticizing the president’s trade policies, has also co-sponsored Kaine’s resolution.
The outcome remains uncertain, with Republican Senators Susan Collins and Thom Tillis indicating potential support for the Democratic-led resolution. Despite his support for addressing the fentanyl crisis, Thune acknowledges his reservations about broad tariffs on Canada.
Senate Republicans, under Conference Vice Chairman James Lankford’s leadership, plan to defend Trump’s authority to use Canadian tariffs as a tool against fentanyl trafficking in Wednesday’s floor response.
