A coalition of a dozen U.S. states has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s sweeping new tariffs, arguing that the president overstepped his authority by bypassing Congress.
Led by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, the group of Democratic-led states including Minnesota, New York, and Oregon filed the lawsuit Wednesday, asserting that President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade moves violate constitutional limits on executive power. California, not part of the coalition, filed a similar suit last week.
“President Trump’s insane tariff scheme is not only economically reckless it is illegal,” said Mayes in a sharply worded statement.
The legal challenge comes amid escalating global trade tensions sparked by Trump’s controversial “Liberation Day” policy announcements. Under this new framework, the White House has slapped an additional 145% tariff on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to retaliate with a 125% tariff on U.S. goods. Other international partners are also facing 10% levies, with the administration warning more could follow.
Despite the backlash, Trump maintains that the tariffs are designed to protect American industries and bring manufacturing jobs back home. “We’re working on a fair deal with China,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.
The states, however, argue that Trump is abusing a 1977 statute that permits emergency measures in times of national crisis measures that, they claim, were never intended to apply to trade policy.
“By claiming the authority to impose immense and ever-changing tariffs on whatever goods entering the United States he chooses, for whatever reason he finds convenient to declare an emergency, the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” the lawsuit states.
Critics argue the tariffs are already having real-world consequences, from market volatility to rising consumer prices. “No matter what the White House claims, tariffs are a tax that will be passed on to Arizona consumers,” Mayes added.
The political fallout is also mounting. According to The New York Times, Trump’s approval rating has dipped to 44% its lowest point since his second term began. Democrats are wasting no time capitalizing on the moment, framing Trump’s economic policies as out-of-touch and harmful to everyday Americans.
California Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t hold back last week, calling Trump’s tariff push “the worst own-goal in the history of this country.”
