California officials applaud ruling against Trump tariffs

By Madeline Shannon
The Center Square

Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its original publication to include additional comments.

In the hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down much of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, legislators and state officials in California applauded the decision.

“There’s no secret that I have been critical of the tariff policy, both from a personal, as well as from a public policy, perspective,” state Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, told The Center Square on Friday. “I have never been able to understand how the authority that he has used to impose the tariffs was constitutional, so I certainly agree with what the Supreme Court has ruled.”

The big question, Niello added, is how the effects of this decision could play out.

“That could be a rather messy process,” Niello said. “Perhaps that might take an act of Congress, short of which the administration or the government would have to refund all of the tariffs that were collected. It remains to be seen exactly how all of that is going to work out.”

However, even within the Golden State’s Republican Party, there seems to be some disagreement on what the International Emergency Economic Powers Act enables the president to do.

“I do believe that the power of the president, under the emergency executive order he was using, actually grants him that justification,” Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, told The Center Square on Friday. “But there is truth and validity to the power of the purse belongs to Congress, and I do believe that tariffs should be codified. This falls back on [Congress] to actually grant the president those extra powers to make sure we can have balanced and reciprocal tariffs when needed to make sure the United States isn’t losing on an international level.”

As reported by The Center Square, the U.S. Supreme Court early Friday ruled that a 1977 law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, doesn’t give the president authority to impose tariffs – running counter to the Trump administration’s interpretation of that law. In the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court took the position that the framers of the Constitution did not give the power to issue tariffs to the executive branch. Justices said the Trump administration’s tariffs violated the major questions doctrine.

A news release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said Friday’s decision on the constitutionality of the tariffs ended an “unlawful and chaotic” tariff regime.

“Today, the highest court in the country has agreed with arguments put forth by California, our sister states, and the dedicated businesses that decided to fight for their livelihoods and for what was right,” Bonta said. “While this is great news, we must not forget the chaos that sent businesses, consumers, and global economies reeling. California celebrates today’s tremendous win and remains committed to tackling Donald Trump’s agenda to fuel the unaffordability crisis.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom, when asked at a press conference at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center on Friday about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, remarked that the tariffs were illegal from the beginning.

“It was shocking to me that three members of the Supreme Court actually agreed with Trump,” Newsom told reporters. “He should return that money immediately. Even his hand-picked Supreme Court said what he was doing is lawless.”

Newsom said gross domestic product and manufacturing have gone down during the Trump administration while unemployment has risen. He added that the tariffs are “the most aggressive sales tax” in the country’s history.

“Pay us back,” Newsom said. “Put that back into the pockets of American families.”

Newsom noted he was the first governor to sue the Trump administration over the tariffs.

In the hours after Newsom’s comments, Democratic lawmakers in California mirrored the governor’s remarks, calling the president’s tariff policies “punishing.”

“The president’s sweeping tariffs have now been halted by the Supreme Court, despite his attempts to erode the independence of the judicial branch,” Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, told The Center Square in a written response on Friday. “Today’s decision offers meaningful relief for California families and businesses. But it is not a signal to stand down. We must remain vigilant and prepared for further attempts to raise costs on working people in the service of corporate and billionaire interests.”

Bipartisan support for the ruling came Southwestern members of Congress, although one Republican Arizonan congressman expressed opposition to the ruling, as reported earlier by The Center Square.

Shortly after the Supreme Court issued its decision on the Trump administration’s tariffs, Trump announced a new round of tariffs that would see a 10% charge on imports from around the world, The Center Square reported on Friday.