February 12, 2026 12:34 PM UTC

Jeff Hurd Sides with Democrats to Reject Trump Tariffs in Canada

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• by: Colorado Pols

President Trump’s once iron grip on Congressional Republicans is turning as purple as his hands.

As Colorado Public Radio explains, House Republicans handed Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson a YUGE smackdown on Wednesday:

The chamber passed a resolution disapproving of the emergency that underlies Trump’s 25 percent tariff the administration placed on Canada, 219-211, with six Republicans voting with almost all Democrats for the measure.

Colorado GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd was one of the Republicans who voted to end the tariff. He said tariff authority resides with Congress, but more importantly, he said he was listening to his constituents.

“I’ve heard a lot from our farmers, agricultural producers, manufacturers of all sizes across the district that these tariffs are not good for Colorado’s 3rd District. And the Constitution is clear and it’s in the best interest of my district. And for me, that made the vote the right vote, and I stand by it,” Hurd told CPR News [Pols emphasis]…

…House Speaker Mike Johnson and the White House tried to stave off the vote by inserting language into a rule Tuesday that would prevent resolutions like this from coming to the House floor through the end of July. Leaders argued the chamber should wait until the U.S. Supreme Court  rules on whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorizes the president to impose tariffs.

But three Republicans, Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Kevin Kiley of California and Tom Massie of Kentucky, voted with all Democrats to prevent that, allowing Wednesday’s resolution of disapproval to come to the floor.  All three also voted to end the tariffs on Canada.

While Colorado Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank, and Gabe Evans stayed in line, Rep. Jeff “Bread Sandwich” Hurd was among six Republicans to demonstrate rational thinking and a hint of a spine in the face of Trump’s tedious threats.

 

The threat of electoral opposition has always been Trump’s biggest stick in beating Congressional Republicans into submission, but poll after poll shows that Republicans are likely to be decimated in the 2026 elections largely because of the bumbling Trump administration. With Trump’s approval ratings falling below 40% and tanking even on issues that Republicans once owned — such as immigration — you could make a strong argument that public opposition from the President might actually be helpful for Republicans in tough races this year. Hell, some Republicans might even be relieved to lose in a Primary Election rather than waiting until November to be pummeled by a Democrat.

Trump’s Primary Election threats also aren’t particularly relevant in Hurd’s third congressional district, where Republican challenger Hope Scheppelman’s campaign has been running on fumes and the President’s approval rating is underwater in a district that he carried in 2024. It’s also worth noting that Trump endorsed Hurd’s re-election in October 2025.

Wednesday’s tariff rebuke won’t likely do much good from a legislative standpoint; even if the Senate were to vote in favor of the resolution, Trump could just veto it later. That doesn’t make this vote any less important — particularly if it is an early indication that Trump’s fear-based leadership is losing potency among his own base of supporters.