Senate Democrats demand tariff refunds begin 'immediately'

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats are demanding refunds for their constituents after the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of President Trump’s tariff agenda last week.

Their request came in a Friday letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The group of senators referenced Bessent’s previous assurance in January that refunds “won’t be a problem” if the high court ruled against Trump’s tariffs.

“The Court has said it. In a 6-3 ruling, it found that the president exceeded his legal authority,” the group wrote in the letter. “You need to give the people their money back.”

Schumer and the co-signers asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to “immediately” launch the refund process within the next 90 days. Additionally, the letter urged the Trump administration to prioritize the needs of those hit hardest by these tariffs, including small businesses. 

“The Supreme Court’s ruling was not, as you characterized it, ‘a loss for the American people.’ It was a reaffirmation that no president is above the law,” they wrote.

“The true loss for the American people would be an administration that collected over $130 billion in illegal taxes and then refused — with a smile and a shrug — to give it back,” the letter continues. “If this administration does not act, Congress will.”

The Democrats’ demands come amid lawsuits from several large companies, from Costco to Revlon to FedEx, to seek refunds for their losses due to Trump’s sweeping import taxes.

Additionally, Maryland officials separately demanded refunds for their states’ businesses and constituents in a letter sent to the Trump administration on Friday morning. 

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling last week, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in a Friday press release that “the Trump Administration needs to do what’s right and pay Marylanders back,” following in the footsteps of other Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), as well as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Trump has made tariffs a cornerstone of his administration’s economic policies. The president doubled down on these measures in the aftermath of the high court’s decision, imposing 10 percent global tariffs under a Trade Act provision. 

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who co-signed Friday’s letter, responded to the new global tariffs last week on the social platform X.

“We’re all going to have to keep paying higher prices because the president is throwing a tantrum,” Wyden posted online. 

Another co-signer, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), noted congressional efforts to repeal Trump’s tariffs in a video posted to his X account Friday. 

Bipartisan votes in the Senate and House in the last several months have urged the Trump administration to peel back some of its import taxes on goods from Canada and other international trading partners. 

“Clearly, he doesn’t want to stop hurting everyday people, but we’re going to do what we can to push back against that strategy, as well,” Kaine said, referencing the new levies.

“But it’s good news that the Supreme Court tied the president’s hands, upheld clear statutory command of Congress and let the president know he isn’t a king, but he’s supposed to follow the law,” he added.