Democratic attorneys general across the U.S. sued the Trump administration Thursday to stop the implementation of a new 15% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The lawsuit comes on the heel of the 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Feb. 20 that struck down Republican President Donald Trump’s previous tariffs.
“The Supreme Court struck down those tariffs as unlawful. Today we’re back for round 2,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters during a virtual news conference Thursday morning with Attorneys General Letitia James of New York, Dan Rayfield of Oregon and Kris Mayes of Arizona. The four states are leading the suit, which includes 20 other states as plaintiffs.
The lawsuit, which is the State of Oregon, et. al., v. Trump, et. al, was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade and requests a three-judge panel to review it. The suit named Trump, former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Rodney S. Scott, commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as defendants. Trump announced Thursday that he fired Noem and would nominate U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, to replace her.
The lawsuit noted the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.
“Congress has delegated limited authority to the President to impose tariffs only in carefully defined circumstances,” the suit said. It contended Section 122 was relevant for a fixed-rate currency exchange system, which ended in 1976.
“The President has no authority to impose tariffs under Section 122 as he has done here,” the lawsuit said. “The text and history of Section 122 confirm that the President has not met the statutory prerequisites for its use.”
The White House sees the law differently.
“The President is using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country’s large and serious balance-of-payments deficits,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Center Square Thursday afternoon, answering questions by email. “The Administration will vigorously defend the President’s action in court.”
During the news conference, Mayes noted Trump’s previous tariffs cost Arizona $1.6 billion.
“After being rebuked by the Supreme Court for illegally taxing the American people, Donald Trump threw a temper tantrum and announced another round of illegal tariffs that will hurt Arizonans,” Mayes told reporters. “Make no mistakes. These tariffs are just another unlawful attempt to tax Arizona families and businesses without the consent of their elected representatives, and they will drive up prices for every Arizonan.”
Attorneys general called Section 122 of Trade Act of 1974 an archaic law that has never been used.
“No president has used this statute to implement tariffs,” Rayfield said.
Bonta said Trump is using an obscure law to impose a high global tariff. “The law doesn’t allow this. We will not stand aside while it’s broken.”
“At its core, this lawsuit is about protecting everyday Americans from the harmful effects of unlawful tariffs,” Bonta told reporters. “They raise the cost of goods and make it harder for businesses to operate.
“California proudly is home to the fourth largest economy in the world. We’re the nation’s largest importer and the second largest exporter,” he continued. “Millions of families and businesses, large and small, and manufacturers right here in California feel the ripple effects of tariffs immediately: higher prices in our grocery stores, higher supply costs for local manufacturers and disruption for businesses that rely on global trade.
“All 39 million Californians depend on an affordable, predictable economy, and these illegal tariffs undermine all of that,” Bonta said.
The lawsuit is California’s 60th since Trump started his second term in January 2025.
James said the new tariff is an illegal tax, regardless of how “the administration is trying to dress it up.”
In addition to California, New York, Oregon and Arizona, those filing the suit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
