Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is leading Senate and House colleagues in filing a bipartisan amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the consolidated case challenging Donald Trump’s unlawful use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on imported goods.
The sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump 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 in Learning Resources et al. v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections et al. – signed as well by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas and Maxine Dexter – argues that the Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the sole authority to impose tariffs and regulate commerce with foreign nations. And the brief argues 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 Trump’s misuse of IEEPA.
“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 Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. “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.”
“Senator Wyden’s leadership in rallying more than 200 members of Congress to support this brief marks an important turning point,” said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “The constitutional balance of power isn’t up for debate, and Congress is making it clear that presidents can’t use emergency powers as a back door to raise taxes on American families.”
“Trump’s illegal and chaotic tariffs are harming American consumers and businesses, leaving them to foot the bill for Trumpflation’s rising prices,” Merkley said. “While Trump is doing all he can to make life more expensive for families across the country, we’re fighting back against the Trump tariff wrecking ball with every tool at our disposal.”
“The livelihood and economic stability of Oregonians should not be subject to Donald Trump’s whims or determined by his abuse of power,” said Bonamici. “We’re fighting against this dangerous and chaotic trade policy, which is increasing uncertainty and raising prices for people across the country.”
“President Trump’s sweeping tariffs are as reckless as they are unconstitutional. They have driven up prices, hurt American families, and eroded the Constitution’s separation of powers. The Constitution is clear: tariff power belongs to Congress alone. Federal courts have already confirmed that President Trump’s attempt to impose tariffs is unlawful, and now it’s time for the Supreme Court to do the same. I’m grateful to Attorney General Rayfield, as well as my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate, for their work to put an end to this abuse of power,” Salinas said.
“Trump’s tariffs are a tax on working people who are already struggling to get by in an economy that is rigged against them,” said Dexter. “I stand firmly beside Attorney General Rayfield in his relentless fight against Trump’s illegal tariffs and am proud to join this amicus brief to support that effort in court.”
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 Wyden, Merkley, Shaheen, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 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, Wyden and Shaheen, 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 group of 191 Senate and House 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.
In addition to Wyden, the brief was also led by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, as well as House Litigation Task Force Chair Joe Neguse, D-Colo., House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., and House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. In addition to Merkley, Bonamici, Salinas, and Dexter, the brief was signed by 33 Senators and 168 U.S. Representatives.
The full brief is here.
A web version of this release is here.
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