President Trump’s Use of the National Emergency Act and Possible Congressional Next Steps

Recently, President Donald Trump issued three Executive Orders (EOs) to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) pursuant to his authorities under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (NEA), Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, and Section 301 of title 3, United States Code, to “declare and reiterate a national emergency under the NEA and IEEPA” in response to the Mexican, Canadian, and PRC governments’ failure to take action against “[t]he extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl.”¹

In these EOs, President Trump also employed the NEA in two additional ways:

1. To expand the scope of a previous national emergency issued under the NEA, Proclamation 10886, titled “Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States” and dated January 20, 2025, which found, pursuant to Sections 201² and 301³ of the NEA, “that a national emergency exists as to the southern border of the United States.”
2. Consistent with Section 401(c)⁴ of the NEA, to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Attorney General, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security “to submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency under IEEPA declared” pursuant to the EOs.

Potential Congressional Next Steps under the NEA

In addition to the president’s authority to declare a national emergency under the NEA, Congress also has a role to play. Specifically, under the NEA, Congress may terminate a national emergency through a joint resolution, which proceeds as follows:

1. If a Member of Congress introduces a joint resolution proposing the termination of a national emergency, the resolution is sent to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House, termination resolutions have previously been referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has jurisdiction over “[f]ederal management of emergencies and natural disasters.”⁵ The Senate’s referral process varies, as it appears to be influenced by the subject matter of the emergency powers invoked by the president in the national emergency declaration.⁶
2. The respective committees report their recommendations within 15 calendar days, unless otherwise determined by the chamber.  
3. The joint resolution becomes the pending business of the chamber in question and is voted on within three calendar days unless otherwise determined by that chamber. 
4. Upon the joint resolution’s passing in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, the joint resolution is referred to the appropriate committee of the other chamber and is reported with recommendations within 15 calendar days. The joint resolution must then be voted on within three calendar days, unless otherwise determined by the house. 
5. Finally, if any disagreement exists between the House of Representatives and the Senate with respect to a passed joint resolution, conferees are promptly appointed and the committee of conference must file a report with respect to the joint resolution within six calendar days after the day on which the conferees on the part of the Senate and the House are appointed. The report is acted on by both chambers within six calendar days. In the event the conferees are unable to agree within 48 hours, they report back to their respective houses in disagreement.

Any joint resolution passed by Congress would be privileged, and, accordingly, receive a vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Any passed joint resolution would be subject to a presidential veto. If the resolution is vetoed, Congress would need a supermajority (2/3) vote to override the veto to pass the resolution.

Other Ways a National Emergency May Be Terminated under the NEA

Under the NEA, a national emergency may also be terminated:

• By presidential proclamation; and

• Automatically on the anniversary of the declaration of the emergency if, within the 90-day period prior to each anniversary date, the president does not publish in the Federal Register and transmit to Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect.

Conclusion

Currently, there are approximately 44 national emergency declarations in effect, some of which have been renewed for decades.⁷ Since taking office on January 20, 2025, President Trump has declared six new emergencies: Proclamation 10886; the three EOs discussed above; EO14156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency; and EO 14157, Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

While Congress may use its authority under the NEA to terminate national emergencies that President Trump has declared under several authorities, including IEEPA and the NEA, given the president’s ability to veto such a resolution and Congress needing a 2/3 vote in order to override a presidential veto, it’s unlikely that a congressional initiative to terminate a national emergency would succeed.

Accordingly, given President Trump’s increased use of national emergencies impacting international trade, interested parties should continue to monitor this space.

¹ The White House, Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. As of the date of this update, President Trump has postponed for 30 days tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The tariffs on China went into effect on February 4, 2025.

² Section 201 of the NEA authorizes the president to declare a national emergency.

³ Section 301 of the NEA requires the president, when declaring a national emergency, to specify the law under which he proposes that he, or other officers, will act.

⁴ Section 401(c) of the NEA requires the president, upon declaration of a national emergency, to transmit a report to Congress that outlines the total expenditures incurred by the US government during six-month periods that are directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities under the declaration of the emergency.

⁵ Congressional Research Service, National Emergencies Act: Expedited Procedures in the House and Senate.

⁶ Id.

⁷ Id.