WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives Democrats’ Litigation Task Force led 34 Senators and 171 U.S. Representatives in filing a bipartisan, bicameral amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the consolidated case Learning Resources et al. v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections et al., which challenges President Donald Trump’s unlawful use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on imported goods. The sweeping tariffs imposed by the President have raised average tariffs to their highest rate since the Great Depression and added more than $1,800 to costs for the average household.
The brief argues that the Constitution grants Congress—not the President—the sole authority to impose tariffs and regulate commerce with foreign nations, and that IEEPA, enacted in 1977, does not authorize tariffs. It urges the Supreme Court to reaffirm Congress’s constitutional authority over tariff policy and to strike down the President’s misuse of IEEPA.
“President Trump’s abuse of emergency powers to levy tariffs on everyday goods is an unlawful overreach that hits American families in their wallets and undermines Congress’s constitutional authority,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “President Trump has circumvented Congress in imposing the biggest tax increase in modern American history at huge costs to families and businesses. This bipartisan brief makes clear that no president—Republican or Democrat—can sidestep that responsibility. The Supreme Court should affirm what every lower court has already found: these tariffs are illegal, and the American people should not have to pay the price for President Trump’s reckless and self-defeating trade policy.”
“Congress passed IEEPA to respond to crises, not to create them. This law doesn’t even mention granting tariff authority to the president, let alone the power to slap sweeping tariffs on products from almost every country on earth,” said Ranking Member Wyden. “I’m proud to support Oregon Attorney General Rayfield’s effort to strike down Trump’s illegal tariffs. The courts should follow the plain text of this law and strike down the global tariffs that are harming American families and threatening American jobs.”
“Donald Trump and congressional Republicans promised to lower the cost of living on day one. They lied. Instead, prices and inflation are rising and Republicans are unleashing harm on everyday Americans,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “Trump's unlawful and repeated imposition and then abandonment of his reckless tariffs creates economic uncertainty, and the American people are forced to shoulder the burden. I thank Rep. Raskin, Rep. Meeks, Rep. Neal, Assistant Leader Neguse and the Litigation Working Group and Rapid Response Task Force for leading House Democrats in standing strong against this illegal and dangerous assault.”
“Donald Trump is forcing skyrocketing costs onto households across the country through the unlawful implementation of his chaotic, on-again-off-again tariffs. And congressional Democrats, in defense of Congress’s Article I legislative powers and working Americans everywhere, are pushing back. We’ve already successfully challenged the administration’s unlawful use of IEEPA twice, and now intend to do so once and for all before the highest court in the land,” said Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse.
“Donald Trump’s attempt to invoke emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs and start chaotic trade wars was never about national security. It was about usurping Congress's powers over trade and commerce so he can personally control the U.S. economy, punish and reward private companies, and subject them to his eccentric whims,” said Ranking Member Jamie Raskin. “Now we’re taking this fight to the Supreme Court to defend Congress’s Article I power to impose tariffs and regulate commerce. Two federal courts have already sided with us and affirmed that this power belongs to the legislative branch. We’re joining twelve state attorneys general once again to finish the job and end this reckless abuse of emergency authority for political purposes once and for all.”
“In a surprise to no one, the president didn’t get what he wanted, and now he wants a new audience. But that doesn’t change what Courts have repeatedly affirmed: Trump does not have the power to unilaterally impose these tariffs under IEEPA,” said Ranking Member Richard E. Neal, House Ways and Means Committee. “Democrats remain committed to a trade policy that protects the people and their wallets and outlasts one man’s bullying and corruption.”
“Lower courts have already found President Trump's tariffs to be an abuse of power, and unlawful. As our amicus brief makes clear, IEEPA was never intended by Congress to give a President tariff authority, and Trump's emergency declarations are clearly baseless. It's time for the courts to strike down these illegal tariffs and bring economic relief to American families suffering from the skyrocketing costs they've caused,” said Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Supreme Court filing follows consistent rulings from the Federal Circuit, the Court of International Trade and the District Court for the District of Columbia—all of which found the Trump administration’s use of IEEPA to impose tariffs unlawful. The lawmakers’ brief underscores that IEEPA’s narrow emergency powers do not authorize the President to impose duties, taxes or tariffs and that using IEEPA in this way?undermines guardrails designed?by Congress?to prevent executive abuse?of tariffs.
In June, Senators Shaheen, Wyden and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Leader, led 33 Senators in filing an amicus brief at an earlier stage of this case urging the immediate suspension of the tariffs imposed under IEEPA.
In July, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Ron Wyden, as well as House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees co-led a bicameral group of 191 lawmakers in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Oregon/V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, challenging President Trump’s unlawful use of emergency powers to impose tariffs under IEEPA. The brief argued that IEEPA is not a tariff statute and that the President lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally impose taxes on imported goods.
The bipartisan Supreme Court brief was led by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), as well as House Litigation Task Force Chair Joe Neguse (D-CO), House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY).
The full brief is available HERE.
###