Summary
The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a lawsuit accusing Trump of illegally imposing tariffs on Chinese imports using emergency powers under the 1977 IEEPA.
The conservative legal group argues only Congress can levy tariffs and claims Trump’s actions violate the Constitution’s separation of powers.
The complaint says Trump’s justification—Chinese opioids and the trade deficit—fails to meet the legal standard of necessity.
NCLA seeks a court order to block the tariffs, stating the IEEPA does not authorize taxes and Trump’s executive orders bypass required congressional procedures.
And they’re absolutely correct. Unfortunately the courts have always deferred to the other branches on the definition of “national emergency”. Congress is supposed to be the ones stopping this and they’ve been neutered by Trump.
No they haven’t. They freely and willfully capitulate.
Well, one half of Congress has. The Senate actually voted to strike down the declared state of emergency in regard to the tariffs on Canada, but the House is refusing to take up the vote on their side.
He only needs half. And the crazies in the house would never impeach him which is frankly warranted at this point already. Trump’s reckless disregard for the rules, norms, and history of the United States is clearly pathological.
The Republican majority in the House isn’t that big. They only need a few to flip, and the reactions to this round of tarrifs are cataclysmic so far.
Only barely, with 4 known Senate Trump skeptics:
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/02/senate-repeal-trump-tariffs-canada