President Donald Trump is expected to hit a wall in Congress as he tries to work around the Supreme Court striking down his sweeping tariffs.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on Monday that Trump’s move to impose 15 percent global tariffs instead would be blocked in the Senate.
“Senate Democrats will continue to fight back against Trump’s tariff tax, and will block any attempt to extend these harmful tariffs when they expire this summer,” Schumer said in a statement. “Democrats will not go along with furthering Trump’s economic carnage.”
In response to the Supreme Court ruling six to three against his widespread tariffs imposed by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Trump signed an executive order slapping 10 percent global tariffs across the board using a never-before-used provision of the law.
Less than 24 hours later, Trump raised his global tariffs to 15 percent with an announcement posted on Truth Social.
But the president’s global tariffs rely on Section 122, so it is scheduled to expire after 150 days unless extended by Congress.
The Tax Foundation estimated the new tariff would apply to $1.2 trillion worth of imports this year. Paired with his remaining tariffs, it would cost U.S. households an estimated $700 this year.
The move puts some Republican lawmakers in a difficult position of having to vote on extending Trump’s tariffs during an election year. They either back a policy that is estimated to raise costs for American families or suffer the president’s wrath.
Some Republican lawmakers were quick to praise the Supreme Court’s striking down Trump’s tariffs and argued that it reaffirmed the role of Congress.
It does not appear that an extension of the president’s new tariffs would pass through Congress despite Trump’s party controlling both chambers.
With Schumer vowing Democrats would block it, the tariffs do not have the necessary votes to pass in the Senate. Even some Republican senators have been deeply critical of the president’s overall tariff push.
But it’s also unlikely the tariff extension would pass in the Republican-controlled House with its razor-thin margins.
“The 15% global tariff will not endure. It is not Constitutional. It’s not only terrible policy, but it is also bad politics. Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the Administration’s tariff policy,” retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon wrote on X.
The president is already fuming that he does not need Congress to act, after being rebuked by some Republicans on tariffs multiple times despite repeated threats.
“As President, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs. It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago!” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
But Americans largely back the Supreme Court limiting Trump’s tariff power. 60 percent strongly or somewhat approved of the Supreme Court striking down his widespread tariffs last week, according to a YouGov poll. Only 23 percent disapproved.
