Scoop: House Dems seek to bypass GOP on ending Trump tariffs

• But it has little chance of succeeding after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) effectively disempowered discharge petitions earlier this year by using a procedural maneuver to kill one related to proxy voting.
• Still, Democrats hope to at least put Republicans in the difficult position of once again having to choose between their loyalty to Trump and trying to mitigate the economic damage his tariffs inflict on their districts.

What they're saying: "It is time for Republicans to do the right thing, sign my discharge petition, and end this tariff tantrum," House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) said in a statement first shared with Axios.

• The petition, led by Meeks, aims to force a vote on his resolution to end the national emergency declaration upon which Trump's April 2 tariffs were based.
• It is Democrats' last option to force such a vote after the House approved Johnson's procedural motion to block them from bringing up the measure under the National Emergencies Act.

Reality check: The petition would need 218 signatures to pass, meaning at least a handful of House Republicans would have to sign on in addition to most Democrats.

• Some Republicans have expressed unease with Trump's tariffs, but few have been willing to go as far as retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) in openly opposing them.
• And Meeks won't necessarily be able to rely on every Democrat to sign on: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) is one of Congress' most fervent advocates for tariffs in either party.
• Even if the petition manages to get 218 signatures, Johnson may still be able to slip language into an unrelated, party-line procedural measure to kill it anyway.