Today, ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address where he is expected to lash out at the Supreme Court’s decision striking down his illegal tariffs, more than 20 state legislators from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont released a letter calling on Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and House Speaker Mike Johnson to refund the illegal tariff taxes cited by the Supreme Court that cost American families at least $1,700 last year.
The letter, first published by Common Dreams, outlines three key demands to Trump in light of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the President’s tariffs and declaring them an illegal tax.
First, Republican leadership must immediately draft legislation to provide a refund to American families for the illegal tariffs Trump imposed. Rather than just the big corporations who passed down the cost of tariffs in the form of higher prices, these refunds must go to the American people, including households, small businesses, and farmers. Second, Trump must abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling and stop collecting the tariffs. Third, Trump must cease and desist any “backup plan” to reimpose these tariffs without Congressional approval.
The President’s job-killing, price-spiking tariffs have been an unmitigated disaster, and the state legislators call out Trump, Thune, and Johnson for the economic pain their constituents have been dealing with for over a year:
“Our constituents are living the reality of your failed policy every single day. They are watching their savings evaporate, working multiple jobs and still falling behind. The Supreme Court was clear, definitive, and unambiguous: these tariffs were illegal taxes. You illegally took money from American families, and those families need their money back.”
Regarding the letter, State Representative Arvind Venkat, MD, who represents the 30th Legislative District in Pennsylvania and signed the correspondence, added:
“Every day, I hear from my neighbors how their cost of living is rising rapidly. Whether it’s food, utilities, housing, or healthcare, tariffs are driving inflation and are a regressive tax. President Trump’s doubling down on tariffs are disastrous for my constituents and all Pennsylvanians.”
Trump is already forcing families to pay more; out of pure spite at the Court’s decision, Trump raised the global tariff rate to 10%, sowing economic chaos across the globe. Trump’s illegal tariffs mean Americans have to dig deeper to cover basic necessities across the board, from groceries to clothes to cars to electronics. Working families need relief, and they need their money back – every dollar Trump illegally took from them.
A full copy of the letter can be found here. The names of those signing can be found below.
Sen. Cathy Kipp, Colorado
Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, Illinois
Sen. Graciela Guzman, Illinois
Rep. Ken Croken, Iowa
Rep. Gary Friedmann, Maine
Rep. Noah Arbit, Michigan
Rep. Stephen Wooden, Michigan
Rep. Susan Almy, New Hampshire
Rep. Tony Caplan, New Hampshire
Rep. Linda Haskins, New Hampshire
Rep. Jo Anne Simon, New York
Rep. Arvind Venkat, Pennsylvania
Rep. Aftyn Behn, Tennessee
Rep. Gene Wu, Texas
Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, Texas
Rep. Jessica Gonzalez, Texas
Rep. Josey Garcia, Texas
Rep. Vincent Perez, Texas
Rep. Vikki Goodwin, Texas
Rep. Ron Reynolds, Texas
Rep. William Greer, Vermont
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