Trump tries to keep GOP senators in line over tariff measure

President Trump questioned the loyalty of four Republican senators Wednesday ahead of a vote on a resolution that would nullify his power to impose tariffs on Canada.

Mr. Trump singled out Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as possible GOP defectors on the measure.

“The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The measure from Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, would quash the emergency provision Mr. Trump used to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods.

While Mr. Trump has exempted many goods from the tariffs, he is expected to roll out a sweeping reciprocal tariff plan on Wednesday that could end the pause.

Mr. Kaine says Mr. Trump pointed to fentanyl trafficking from Canada to justify his emergency powers, even though most of the illicit supply flows from China and Mexico.

Mr. Trump said the drug emergency is real and he doesn’t want any Republican senators to oppose him.

“They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“To the people of the Great States of Kentucky, Alaska, and Maine, please contact these Senators and get them to FINALLY adhere to Republican Values and Ideals,” he wrote. “They have been extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself.”

Ms. Collins, Ms. Murkowski and Mr. McConnell have been willing to buck Mr. Trump on nominees and other matters if they disagree with the president.

Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski represent states that share a border with Canada, raising economic implications, and Mr. McConnell’s state exports products such as whiskey to Canada and other countries.

Mr. Paul is a key libertarian voice who has opposed tariffs as harmful to his state’s industries. He supports international trade as a way to maintain peace and make America rich.