ICYMI: Magaziner Joins Amicus Brief Against Trump’s Unlawful Tariffs

WASHINGTON, DC –  U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02), a member of House Democrats’ Litigation and Rapid Response Task Force, along with other Democratic colleagues, filed an amicus brief challenging President Donald Trump’s sweeping and chaotic tariffs, unlawfully imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The lawmakers’ brief stands up for Congress’s Article I power to impose tariffs and regulate commerce, and argues that IEEPA does not give the president the power to impose his reckless, on-again-off-again tariffs that have wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy and raised costs for Rhode Island’s working people and businesses. The brief was filed for the case Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al., brought forward by 12 States’ Attorneys General. 

“President Trump is unlawfully bypassing Congress to push chaotic and unlawful tariffs that are raising costs for Rhode Islanders,” said Magaziner. “It’s not just bad economics —it’s an unconstitutional power grab. I will always stand up for the separation of powers and defend the American people against harmful actions from the Trump Administration.” 

The Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the authority to impose tariffs. The president can raise tariffs if Congress has clearly delegated that authority to him. Although IEEPA, enacted in 1977, grants the president authority to impose sanctions, block foreign assets, and regulate economic transactions in response to “unusual and extraordinary threats” originating abroad, the lawmakers argue it is not a tariff statute that gives the president free rein to unilaterally execute his trade policy.

The full brief arguing against Trump’s tariffs in Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al. is available here. 

In addition to challenging Trump’s tariff policies, Magaziner has joined additional amicus briefs challenging unlawful Trump Administration policies in court:

• State of New York v. Linda McMahon, achieving a positive ruling in a case to oppose the Trump Administration’s attempt to unlawfully dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
• State of Washington v. Trump, defending the constitutional right to birthright citizenship against a Trump executive order that sought to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose mothers are undocumented or on temporary visas and whose fathers are not permanent residents.
• NTEU v CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought, supporting employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in a lawsuit challenging the illegal appointment of OMB Director Russell Vought as Acting Director of CFPB, in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act’s statutory succession plan.