Klobuchar, a Trump tariff foe, heartened by arguments in SCOTUS case brought by Minnesota and other states

WASHINGTON During oral arguments Wednesday on a affair brought by Minnesota and other states U S Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of President Donald Trump s tariff policies Those levies have also been targeted in the U S Senate which has in recent days approved three resolutions aimed at reining in Trump s tariff policies One resolution was co-sponsored by Sen Amy Klobuchar D-Minn It would reject Trump s declaration of a national emergency to impose tariffs on Canada The win on that resolution and on two others that also rejected the emergency declaration was made workable when a group of GOP senators joined all Democrats in supporting Klobuchar s ordinance Related Minnesota farmers want arrangement over aid but they d take various aid in the meantime Republican Sens Rand Paul of Kentucky Lisa Murkowski of Alaska Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted for Klobuchar s resolution The law faces long odds in the U S House But the bipartisan votes for Klobuchar s bill along with GOP promotion for a resolution that would end global tariff authority and another that focused on Brazil served as a rebuke of Trump s use of a emergency law to impose the global duties The president claimed the tariffs are warranted because the country s commerce deficit qualifies as a national emergency a claim whose validity will now be decided by the Supreme Court The high court will now decide on the event against Trump tariffs brought by Minnesota and other states and a similar incident filed by small businesses that also challenged the steep widespread duties the president has imposed on foreign friends and enemies alike Klobuchar was among a handful of lawmakers attending the oral arguments I m glad I was there she advised MinnPost citing the impact of tariffs on small businesses and farmers in Minnesota including soybean farmers who have seen their exports to China a prime sector evaporate because of Trump s transaction wars Klobuchar also commented I thought the hearing went well The Supreme Court heard challenges to two sets of tariffs One is aimed at stopping shipments of fentanyl and chemicals used to make the drug from China Mexico and Canada Another targets new tariffs imposed on nearly every country Trump imposed those tariffs to wrangle better arrangement deals and has boasted about the billions of dollars they have brought the U S Treasury Those tariffs which are paid by importers to customs agencies before being sent to the Treasury are largely passed along to consumers as higher prices for imported goods A large number of economists and chosen of the justices on Wednesday call them a tax Trump has also noted he has had to impose the levies to reduce a deal deficit the president says has brought the United States to the brink of an economic and national prevention catastrophe The justices sharply questioned lawyers representing the plaintiffs of those cases and leadership attorneys over the president s authority to use tariffs as a weapon in a national urgency and if a national crisis existed based on Trump s assertions of unfair exchange practices Not a presidential power A decision is expected to be expedited because of the high stakes in the episode for the establishment U S companies and other countries as well as the daunting task of refunding the tariffs if the high court decides they are unconstitutional So a ruling could come later this month or early next month It s just a mess Klobuchar commented of the prospect of having to return tens of billions of dollars in tariff money That s why you don t want the president to use statutes in a way that is not legal Justices Elena Kagan Sonia Sotomayor Ketanji Brown Jackson and Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to be strongly against the leadership during more than two hours of oral arguments I just don t understand Sotomayor announced of the arguments of the establishment s lawyer Solicitor General D John Sauer This is not a presidential power It s a congressional power At issue is whether the tariffs are regulatory which would give Trump specific authority to use them or revenue-raising Only Congress has the authority to impose revenue-raising measures Roberts disclosed Trump s tariffs were an imposition of taxes on Americans and that has perpetually been the core power of Congress Justices Samuel Alito Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh appeared to be open to Sauer s arguments The court s conservative majority has been sympathetic to Trump s use of broad presidential power Related Trump says a Canadian ad misstated Ronald Reagan s views on tariffs Here are the facts and context Yet Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett had pointed questions for Sauer and those conservative justices could be swing votes It may not be a liberal versus conservative ruling Klobuchar reported Klobuchar stated she was hopeful the justices would strip Trump of broad tariff authority Cautiously optimistic She explained her favorite moment during the oral arguments was when Gorsuch noted in a loud voice that the power of taxation was unique and powerful and only Congress has the authority to impose taxes and decide the intent of the law I kept wanting to yell out from the back of the room that I know about congressional intent Klobuchar mentioned Meanwhile Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison explained he is cautiously optimistic the court will hold the president s extraordinary tariffs unlawful The Supreme Court was rightly skeptical of the President s extraordinary assertion of an unreviewable power to impose tariffs on any country for any length of time in any amount only by declaring an exigency Ellison disclosed in a report Bulk of the justices on the Supreme Court expressed serious concern about the President s claimed power to tariff the entire world without any grant of that power from Congress The post Klobuchar a Trump tariff foe heartened by arguments in SCOTUS affair brought by Minnesota and other states 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