Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, pictured alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, at a press conference in January 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump lacks power to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law that gives presidents powers to "regulate" transactions with foreign entities in response to "unusual and extraordinary threats."
The Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the law falls short of including tariff powers.
Yet several prominent Democrats have previously supported tariffs when wielded for their own policy goals.
Despite condemning Trump’s use of IEEPA in his second term, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., once urged Congress on the House floor to use tariffs to push back on China’s growing market power.
"In terms of tariffs, it’s interesting to note that the average U.S. MFN [Most Favored Nation] tariff on Chinese goods coming into the United States is 2%, whereas the average MFN tariff on U.S. goods going into China is 35%," Pelosi said, referring to tariffs China had imposed on the U.S.
Further, former President Joe Biden largely left Trump’s first-term tariffs against China in place with little resistance from Democrats, who controlled both chambers of Congress at the time.
Trump, in his second term, has used tariffs as a point of leverage against other countries, threatening steeper trade costs with countries that didn’t see eye-to-eye with the goals of his administration.
6 HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP ON KEY AGENDA ITEM IN DEM-PUSHED VOTE
A view of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
"[Trump] has repeatedly disregarded the Constitution to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs without credible reason or cause, crushing American consumers and small businesses under these new taxes to help pay for giveaways to his wealthy friends. Now, at last, the Supreme Court has ruled that he broke the law to do so," Beyer said.
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the court had sided with the longstanding criticisms from Democrats over concerns about Trump’s unilateral powers on tariffs.
"GOOD NEWS: The Supreme Court just ruled that Trump’s tariffs imposed under his ‘emergency authorities’ are unlawful. They affirmed what we’ve been saying this whole time: Only Congress has the power to impose taxes, which includes Trump's reckless tariffs," Jayapal said in a post to social media.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-cheer-supreme-court-move-blocking-trump-tariffs-despite-past-support-trade-duties