In his new memoir, Wisconsin author and educator Doug Bradley uses music as a playlist for his life. He outlines coming-of-age moments and his time in the Vietnam War with popular music by the likes of Smokey Robinson and the Animals.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump was joined by, left to right, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former Executive Chairman of Fox Corporation Rupert Murdoch and Oracle CTO Larry Ellison. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Democratic lawmakers argued in a new legal filing this week that President Donald Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs usurped congressional power, and they urged a federal appellate court to strike down the duties on foreign imports.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is set to hear oral arguments over some of Trump’s tariffs after a lower court blocked them in May. Despite being tied up in court, Trump continued threatening tariffs Wednesday on numerous trading partners, including a 50% import tax on goods from Brazil.
Nearly 200 lawmakers signed onto the amicus brief Tuesday, asserting that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, under which Trump triggered the duties, “does not confer the power to impose or remove tariffs.”
The lawmakers argued that Trump’s unprecedented use of IEEPA violates Article I of the U.S. Constitution that authorizes Congress to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises” and “regulate commerce with foreign nations.”
“This reflects the Framers’ interest in ensuring the most democratically accountable branch — the one closest to the People — be responsible for enacting taxes, duties, and tariffs,” wrote the 191 Democratic members of Congress, citing the Federalist Papers, in their 65-page brief.
Congress has “explicitly and specifically” delegated tariff-raising powers to the president, but not under IEEPA, according to the lawmakers.
“Unmoored from the structural safeguards Congress built into actual tariff statutes, the President’s unlawful ‘emergency’ tariffs under IEEPA have led to chaos and uncertainty,” the lawmakers wrote.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, co-led the brief with Oregon’s Sen. Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also co-led, along with Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Joe Neguse of Colorado, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Richard Neal of Massachusetts.
In a statement Wednesday, Shaheen said Trump’s “reckless tariff agenda has caused economic chaos and raised prices for families and businesses across the country at a moment in which the cost of living is far too high.”
“The Trump Administration’s unlawful abuse of emergency powers to impose tariffs ignores that he does not have the authority to unilaterally impose the largest tax increase in decades on Americans. This brief makes clear that IEEPA cannot be used to impose tariffs,” Shaheen said.
The U.S. Court of International Trade struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs in a May 28 decision, following two legal challenges brought by a handful of business owners and a dozen Democratic state attorneys general.
Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon were among the states that brought the suit.
The lead business plaintiff is V.O.S. Selections, a New York-based company that imports wine and spirits from 16 countries, according to its website. Other plaintiffs include a Utah-based plastics producer, a Virginia-based children’s electricity learning kit maker, a Pennsylvania-based fishing gear company, and a Vermont-based women’s cycling apparel company.
Following an appeal from the White House, the Federal Circuit allowed Trump’s tariffs to remain in place while the case moved forward.
Trump used IEEPA to declare international trade a national emergency and announced tariffs on nearly every other country on April 2 in what he dubbed as “Liberation Day.”
Tariffs reached staggering levels on major U.S. trading partners, including 46% on Vietnam, 25% on South Korea and 20% on the European Union.
The announcement wiped trillions from markets, which have largely recovered. Trump delayed all but a 10% base tariff for 90 days on every country except China. Trump fueled a trade war with the massive Asian nation, peaking at a 145% tariff rate, but then temporarily settling between 10% and 55%, depending on the good.
Even before Trump shocked the world with his “Liberation Day” announcement, small business owners from around the U.S. told States Newsroom they were bracing for potentially devastating economic effects.
The trade court’s ruling — a pending appeals litigation — does not apply to tariffs Trump imposed under other statutes, including national security-related duties on foreign automobiles, as well as steel and aluminum. Some of the steel tariffs, imposed during Trump’s first term, were left in place under former President Joe Biden.
A B-2 Stealth Bomber performs a fly over before the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 5, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
This report has been updated.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday night that the United States has attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, and all U.S. planes were outside Iran and on their way back to the United States.
“A short time ago the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in brief televised remarks from the White House just after 10 p.m. Eastern.
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” he said. “Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
Flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said he hoped the strikes would be the extent of the U.S. offensive in Iran, but he warned he would authorize attacks on other targets if Iran did not end the war.
“Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” he said. “If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.”
Trump had first announced the strikes roughly two hours earlier on social media.
“All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote.
Several U.S. House Democrats questioned the legality of the bombing.
“President Trump has no constitutional authority to take us to war with Iran without authorization from Congress, and Congress has not authorized it,” Don Beyer, a House Democrat from Virginia, wrote on X.
Earlier Saturday, there had been numerous reports that B-2 bombers had been sent from Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County, Missouri, and were flying across the Pacific Ocean. Department of Defense leaders said at a Sunday morning press conference that those bombers were decoys, “a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. “The main strike package comprised of 7 B-2 spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications. “
Trump returned to the White House at about 6 p.m. Eastern on Saturday from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to attend a national security meeting at the White House.
The attack on the Iran sites supports a key U.S. ally, Israel, while distancing another foreign policy priority for the Trump administration, a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear development.
“I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said at the White House, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
Republican lawmakers in national security roles quickly weighed in on social media and in statements Saturday to support Trump’s decision.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement: “The regime in Iran, which has committed itself to bringing ‘death to America’ and wiping Israel off the map, has rejected all diplomatic pathways to peace. The mullahs’ misguided pursuit of nuclear weapons must be stopped. As we take action tonight to ensure a nuclear weapon remains out of reach for Iran, I stand with President Trump and pray for the American troops and personnel in harm’s way.”
“Our commander-in-chief has made a deliberate—and correct—decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime,” U.S. Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote on X. “We now have very serious choices ahead to provide security for our citizens and our allies and stability for the middle-east. Well-done to our military personnel. You’re the best!”
House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican, blamed Iran for the conflict.
“As I have said multiple times recently, I regret that Iran has brought the world to this point,” he wrote on X. “That said, I am thankful President Trump understood that the red line—articulated by Presidents of both parties for decades—was real. The United States and our allies, including Israel, are making it clear that the world would never accept Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.”
Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who is not always aligned with Trump, also praised the move.
“Thank you to our brave service members who executed this mission,” he said. “The world will be safer if Iran’s nuclear capability is destroyed. I look forward to briefings in the coming days.”
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian who is often at odds with his party leadership, expressed his opposition in a Saturday night social media post.
“This is not Constitutional,” he wrote.
Immediate reaction from Democrats was mixed.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman called the move “the correct decision,” adding that “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities.”
But members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus raised the issue of congressional authorization and called for a vote on a privileged resolution sponsored by California Democrat Ro Khanna and Massie that would block military force against Iran.
“Donald Trump illegally took military action against Iran—without congressional authorization—risking dragging us into another endless war,” Arizona Democrat Yassamin Ansari wrote. “I am calling for an immediate emergency session of Congress to vote on the War Powers Resolution.”
“Instead of listening to the American people, Trump is listening to War Criminal Netanyahu, who lied about Iraq and is lying once again about Iran,” Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib wrote. “Congress must act immediately to exert its war powers and stop this unconstitutional act of war.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, was sharply critical.
“Donald Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East. He has failed to deliver on that promise. The risk of war has now dramatically increased, and I pray for the safety of our troops in the region who have been put in harm’s way,” Jeffries said in a statement.
“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”
He said Congress must immediately be briefed in a classified setting.
Israel began bombing what it said were Iranian nuclear facilities last week, scuttling U.S. negotiations with Iran, which Trump repeated again Wednesday had been close.
In a statement issued through a spokesman on state-run TV Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the U.S. not to get involved.
“Any form of U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be met with irreparable harm,” the statement said, according to a BBC translation.
Prior to the announcement, congressional Republicans were generally supportive of an aggressive posture toward Iran.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, told reporters at the Capitol that Iran’s nuclear program was meant to threaten the United States.
“When the Ayatollah chants ‘Death to America,’ I believe him,” Cruz said, referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “So does President Trump, and that’s why, as commander-in chief, he is acting decisively to keep America safe.”
The potential of a nuclear Iran has animated U.S. policy debates about the region for more than a decade.
In his first term, Trump withdrew from a deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama’s administration that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for limiting its nuclear development.
Iran and Israel have not had diplomatic relations since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and each has been a primary antagonist in the other’s foreign policy.
Israel has long prioritized denying Iran a nuclear weapon. Iran has funded Hamas, the militant group that launched the October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, and Hezbollah, a militant group in Lebanon.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst raised Iran’s support for Hamas at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, using it as a rationale for U.S. involvement in the region.
“Who is the primary funder of Hamas?” the Iowa Republican asked Hegseth.
Hegseth answered Iran.
“Forty-three Americans lost their lives on Oct. 7 at the hands of Hamas,” Ernst continued. “So when there is a question about whether it’s appropriate for America to be engaged in the Middle East, in defending Americans that live and work abroad, I think there’s our answer.”
Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.
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