Schumer Vows To ‘Block Any Attempt To Extend’ New Trump Tariffs

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is drawing a political line in the sand, vowing that Democrats will attempt to block any effort to extend President Donald J. Trump’s renewed tariffs beyond their expiration date this summer, following last week’s Supreme Court ruling limiting the administration’s prior use of emergency tariff authority.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that President Trump had exceeded the authority granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) when imposing sweeping global tariffs. The ruling effectively lifted many of the broad trade measures the administration had enacted over the past year to rebalance trade relationships and protect American industry.

Refusing to retreat from his America First trade agenda, President Trump announced Saturday that he would invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to implement a replacement import fee, raising it from 10% to 15%. That authority is temporary and will expire on July 24 — 150 days after implementation — at which point Congress must decide whether to extend it.

While Republicans maintain a 53-47 majority in the Senate, most legislation must clear the 60-vote threshold, meaning Democrats could attempt to block an extension if they remain unified.

“Senate Democrats will continue to fight back against Trump’s tariff tax and will block any attempt to extend these harmful tariffs when they expire this summer,” Schumer said Monday in a statement.

“The new tariff regime that Trump put in must expire in a few months and needs Congress’s approval. I am here to tell Donald Trump and the American people, we will not extend those tariffs, and they will expire in a few months,” Schumer later declared from the Senate floor.

President Trump blasted the Court’s ruling as “deeply disappointing” but made clear he has no intention of refunding the revenue already collected — potentially setting up another major legal battle over more than $130 billion paid into federal coffers.

The president also turned his fire on Schumer, arguing the New York Democrat is under pressure from the radical wing of his party.

Trump said Schumer has been “beaten up badly” by the far-left and is now attempting to posture as tough because he is “in deep trouble” and “losing in all of the polls.”

“He’s even losing to AOC, plus three,” Trump said, referencing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her progressive allies.

Meanwhile, a bloc of Senate Democrats introduced legislation Monday that would require reimbursement of tariffs invalidated by the Court. Co-sponsors claim the total could reach $175 billion — a figure that underscores just how significant the revenue from Trump’s trade measures has been.

Even within Republican ranks, the tariff issue has produced occasional friction. Former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell welcomed the Court’s decision, stating Friday that “the Supreme Court reaffirmed authority that has rested with Congress for centuries.”

Schumer is now urging Republicans to join Democrats in preventing further tariff action. Notably, the Senate approved three measures in October aimed at lifting Trump’s now-revoked international tariffs, though those bills stalled in the House due to opposition from GOP leadership.

Earlier this month, the House narrowly passed legislation reversing tariffs on Canada. Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged the uphill battle ahead.

“I think it’ll be a challenge to find consensus on any path forward on the tariffs, on the legislative side,” Johnson told reporters Monday.

“That is why, I think, you see so much of the attention on the executive side, the executive branch, and what they’re doing and how they’re reacting to the ruling,” he added.

The high-stakes trade battle unfolds just ahead of President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the speech will be “a great speech” focused on how the president is delivering on the promises he made to the American people — including restoring American economic sovereignty and defending U.S. workers from unfair foreign competition.

With Democrats openly pledging obstruction and the courts weighing in, the coming months could determine whether President Trump’s America First trade strategy continues reshaping the global economic order — or whether Congress reins it in.