Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine has been spearheading an effort to reassert congressional authority over trade with a joint resolution that would effectively end a 40 percent tariff on imports from Brazil.
The measure passed, 52-48, with the support of five Republicans who sided with Democrats in the Oct. 28 vote, including Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former Senate GOP leader.
President Donald Trump imposed the tariff hike after declaring a national emergency in July, citing free speech violations and the prosecution of former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. Kaine made it clear that his measure ending the emergency was also meant to reign in Trump’s use of presidential powers. “I’m against tariffs generally, unless they’re used very specifically, but I’m also against letting presidents just invent a reason to use emergency powers to do all kinds of things without coming to Congress,” Kaine told reporters.
Getting to Congress: Kaine worked as a civil rights lawyer in Richmond before jump-starting his political career in 1994 with a seat on the city council, winning that race by 94 votes. Four years later, he was elected mayor by his peers.
Kaine has a longtime working relationship with fellow Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner. The two met at Harvard Law School and when Warner won the gubernatorial race in 2001, Kaine was elected lieutenant governor. Kaine succeeded Warner four years later as governor. He followed that with a stint as chairman of the Democratic National Committee before running for the Senate in 2012, for the open seat left by the retirement of Democrat Jim Webb. In the November election, Kaine defeated his Republican opponent, former Gov. George Allen, winning roughly 53 percent of the vote.
His State: The Commonwealth of Virginia is a political swing state often seen as a bellwether for national politics. Once reliably conservative, Virginia voters have chosen the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 2008. At the same time, seats in the House and the governor’s mansion have swung between parties — outgoing GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin is a Trump ally.
The Nov. 4 governor’s election, which includes former Rep. Abigail Spanberger as the Democratic candidate, may be an early predictor of the 2026 midterms. Richmond, the state capital, is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. and is home to tobacco giant Altria. The military has a large presence along Virginia’s coast, including Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval station in the world. Closer to Washington, the densely-populated Northern Virginia suburbs trend liberal and are home to tens of thousands of federal employees hit hard by Trump administration layoffs.
What’s New: Kaine introduced a separate joint resolution in October aimed at removing U.S. military forces from hostilities against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress, amid a steady buildup of U.S. military power in and around the country. Days earlier, a similar measure led by Kaine and Sen. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., which sought to more broadly curtail the use of U.S. military forces in hostilities without congressional authorization, did not garner enough support to advance to the Senate floor.
Point of Interest: His Catholic faith played a prominent role in his early life. While studying law at Harvard, Kaine took a nine-month break after his first year to teach carpentry and welding at a Jesuit technical school in El Progreso, Honduras.
This report was corrected to accurately reflect Kaine’s 2001 election as Virginia lieutenant governor.
Olivia M. Bridges and Mark Satter contributed to this report.
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