So the Supreme Court on Friday voided some tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed under one law.
Democrats, in their infinite stupidity, are now screaming about "refunds" for the American people. Illinois Governor and 2028 presidential candidate J.B. Pritzker says that the U.S. government owes Illinois $8,679,261,600 in "total damages."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday called for "tariff refunds," posting on X: “No Supreme Court decision can undo the massive damage that Trump’s chaotic tariffs have caused. The American people paid for these tariffs and the American people should get their money back.”
Other Democrats are calling for Trump to issue refunds to every American family. Another 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said, "Donald Trump should return that money immediately. He has an obligation. $1,751 per family that were taxed by Donald Trump. He took hundreds of billions of dollars from working folks, from the ag community, from small businesses for this vanity play, this illegal action, and he finally was held to account. The rule of law won out."
Democrats can be forgiven. After all, they are mostly products of the American public school system and have difficulty with reading comprehension, and have never developed critical thinking skills.
In a 6-3 ruling, the justices overturned Trump’s expanded use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs. Of course, that wasn't the only statute upon which Trump imposed tariffs. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, is the primary tool used for tariffs justified on national security grounds. Unlike IEEPA, this statute explicitly mentions the power to adjust "duties." It has been the basis for significant tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper, and automobiles.
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows the U.S. to take action against countries that engage in unfair trade practices, such as discriminating against U.S. commerce or violating trade agreements. This is the basis for tariffs on China, as well as tariffs on agricultural products that are subsidized by foreign governments.
There are other statutes that give the president the legal authority to impose tariffs. From my point of view, the "national security" angle is a stretch, but well within the executive's purview, as the Supreme Court will almost certainly agree with, as other tariff cases are brought.
Once again, the Democrats are counting on the ignorance of the American people to gain political favor. They do it with "voting rights." They do it on "gun control." And now they're stretching the truth to the breaking point on tariffs.
J.B. Pritzker should have been a ringmaster in a circus.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sent a letter to Trump calling for refunds to families in his state.
"Your tariff taxes wreaked havoc on farmers, enrage our allies, and sent grocery store prices through the roof," Pritzker said in the letter. "On behalf of the people of Illinois, I demand a refund of $1,700 for every family in Illinois."
The governor also sent an invoice billing that amount for more than 5.1 million Illinois families, totaling more than $8.6 billion. The invoice said it was "PAST DUE - DELINQUENT."
When reached for comment, White House spokesman Kush Desai responded in part by saying if Pritzker "really cared about delivering economic relief for Illinois, he'd start with his own state government instead of chasing another stupid headline."
What a showman!
Tariffs are too esoteric an issue to have a major impact on the midterms. Talk by Democrats of "tariff refunds" will quickly fade, and they will find some other shiny bauble to play with.
Still, it's amusing to watch Democrats falling all over themselves in calling for "refunds" that would be impossible to determine and never pass Congress in a million years.
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