Top Senate Democrats have demanded that the Trump administration return more than $130 billion in tariffs declared illegal by the Supreme Court
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WASHINGTON — Top Senate Democrats have demanded that the Trump administration return more than $130 billion in tariffs declared illegal by the Supreme Court, escalating a political and legal confrontation over what they called money illegally taxed from American businesses and consumers.
In a February 27 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the lawmakers said the administration must immediately begin issuing automatic refunds instead of forcing small businesses to go to court.
“The American people — small business owners, importers, manufacturers, and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes — deserve better than this stonewalling,” the senators wrote. “This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.”
The letter, led by Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer, Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden and Senator Ben Ray Lujan, follows a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that found the President exceeded his legal authority in imposing the tariff regime.
The senators sharply criticised Bessent’s public remarks after the ruling.
“On Friday, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, you said ‘the American people won’t see’ the billions of dollars in tariff revenue unlawfully collected from them,” they wrote. They added that on Sunday he described refund questions as “bad framing” and insisted the matter was “up to the lower court”.
The senators countered that Bessent had earlier said issuing refunds “won’t be a problem” for the Treasury and that “if the court says it, we’d have to do it.” They wrote: “The Court has said it. In a 6-3 ruling, it found that the president exceeded his legal authority. You need to give the people their money back.”
The lawmakers set out four demands. They urged the administration to direct US Customs and Border Protection to begin processing automatic refunds for tariffs and customs duties collected under IEEPA since January 20, 2025. They also called for a transparent and expeditious refund process prioritising small businesses, a clear public timeline of no more than 90 days for disbursements, and an end to any effort to delay or deny refunds pending further litigation.
“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,” the senators 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. If this administration does not act, Congress will.”
More than 20 Democratic senators signed the letter, including Angela Alsobrooks, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Tammy Duckworth, Dick Durbin, Kirsten Gillibrand, John Hickenlooper, Mazie Hirono, Tim Kaine, Andy Kim, Amy Klobuchar, Jeff Merkley, Jack Reed, Jacky Rosen, Adam Schiff, Mark Warner, Raphael Warnock, Alex Padilla, Sheldon Whitehouse, Michael Bennet and Lisa Blunt Rochester.
Tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act had triggered legal challenges from importers and business groups who argued that the executive branch overstepped its statutory authority.