Supreme Court ruling offers little relief to Republicans divided over Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a few hours Friday, congressional Republicans appeared to get some relief from one of the biggest sticking points they’ve had with the Trump administration. It didn’t last.

The Supreme Court struck down a major part of President Donald Trump’s global tariff regime, ruling that the power to impose taxes rests with Congress. Many Republicans greeted Friday morning’s decision with measured statements, some even praising it, and GOP leaders said they would work with Trump on tariffs in the future.

But by afternoon, Trump made clear that he had no intention of working with Congress and would instead go it alone and impose a new 10% global import tax. On Saturday morning, he said he would increase that new tariff from 10% to 15%. It does so under a law that restricts rates to 150 days and has never before been invoked in this way. That decision could not only have major implications for the global economy, but also ensure that Republicans will continue to be held accountable for Trump’s tariffs for months to come, especially as the midterm elections approach.

“I have the right to impose tariffs, and I have always had the right to impose tariffs,” Trump said at a news conference, adding that he doesn’t need Congress. On Saturday, he posted on social media to call the three dissenting Supreme Court justices his new heroes.

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Tariffs have been one of the only areas where the Republican-controlled Congress has broken with Trump. Both the House and Senate had at various times passed resolutions aimed at rebuking tariffs being imposed on trading partners like Canada. It is also one of the few issues on which Republican lawmakers, who grew up in a party that largely championed free trade, have expressed criticism of Trump’s economic policies.

“The empty merits of sweeping trade wars with America’s friends were evident long before today’s decision,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Senate Republican leader, said in a statement, adding that the tariffs raise home prices and disrupt other industries important to his home state of Kentucky.

How Democrats plan to take advantage of Trump’s trade war

Democrats, seeking to regain control of Congress, intend to endorse McConnell’s argument. At a news conference Friday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s new tariffs “will still raise costs for people and hurt the American people as much as his old tariffs did.”

Schumer challenged Republicans to stop Trump from imposing his new global tariff. Democrats also called Friday for refunds to American consumers for tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court.

“The American people paid for these tariffs and should get their money back,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said on social media.

All of this played into one of Democrats’ central messages for the midterm campaign: that Trump has failed to make the cost of living more affordable and has inflamed prices with tariffs.

Midsize U.S. companies have had to absorb taxes on imports by passing them on to customers in the form of higher prices, employing fewer workers or accepting lower profits, according to an analysis by the JPMorganChase Institute.

Will Congress act on Trump’s new tariffs?

The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday made clear that most justices believe the Constitution gives Congress the authority to impose tariffs. However, Trump quickly signed an executive order citing the Trade Act of 1974, which gives the president the power to impose temporary taxes on imports when there are “large and serious United States balance of payments deficits” or other international payments problems. The authority has never been used and therefore has never been tested in court.

Republicans have at times warned Trump about the potential economic consequences of his tariff plans. However, before Trump’s global tariff “Release Day” in April last year, Republican leaders refused to directly challenge the president.

Some Republican lawmakers applauded the new tariff policy, highlighting a generational divide among Republicans, with a mostly younger group of Republicans fiercely backing Trump’s strategy. Instead of adhering to traditional free trade doctrine, they advocate “America First” protectionism, hoping it will revive American manufacturing.

Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, a freshman from Ohio, sharply criticized the Supreme Court ruling Friday and called on GOP lawmakers to “codify the tariffs that had made our country the hottest in the world.”

Meanwhile, some Republicans who oppose the tariffs openly applauded the Supreme Court’s decision. Rep. Don Bacon, a critic of the administration who is not seeking re-election, said on social media that “Congress must stand on its own two feet, take tough votes and defend its officials.”

Bacon predicted more Republican reactions to come. He and a handful of other GOP members were instrumental earlier this month in forcing a House vote on Trump’s Canada tariffs. When that measure passed, Trump promised political retaliation for any Republican who voted against his tariff plans.

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News writers Matt Brown, Joey Cappelletti and Lisa Mascaro contributed.