Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took to the Senate floor on Monday to deliver a blunt message: Democrats will not extend President Donald Trump’s newly reimposed tariffs.
Framing the issue in kitchen-table terms, Schumer stated that Americans briefly “breathed a sigh of relief” after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down the president’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs. The Court’s decision, he said, reaffirmed that only Congress—not the president acting unilaterally—has the authority to raise tariffs on an emergency basis.
That relief, Schumer noted, was short-lived.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump quickly reinstated the tariffs at 10 percent under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and then increased them to 15 percent, leaving American consumers back in the same position as before the ruling: facing higher prices, rising inflation, and growing difficulty paying bills.
Schumer placed the burden squarely on the tariffs themselves. Groceries, cars, housing materials—everyday essentials—are becoming more expensive, he stated, and a “good chunk” of that financial strain is tied directly to the administration’s trade policies.
He also cast the president as politically and economically disconnected, describing Trump as operating “in a bubble” and out of touch with the practical consequences his policies impose on American families.
Schumer Says Democrats Will Do ‘Everything We Can’ To Stop Trump’s Tariffs
But beyond criticism, Schumer laid down a procedural marker. The current tariff framework, he noted, must expire in a matter of months unless Congress affirmatively approves it. Democrats, he said unequivocally, will not provide that approval.
“We will not extend those tariffs,” Schumer sternly declared, expressing hope that Republicans will ultimately join Democrats in blocking their continuation.
The minority leader emphasized what he described as broad public opposition to tariffs—not only among Democrats but also independents and Republicans. In his telling, the political landscape is clear: Americans view tariffs as cost-raising measures that worsen inflation rather than strengthen the economy.
Schumer closed by pledging that Democrats will use every available legislative tool to prevent the tariffs from becoming permanent. For his caucus, he said, the issue is not abstract trade theory but immediate economic pressure on working families.
