California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday sued the Trump administration in federal court over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, arguing that it was illegal for Trump to use certain emergency powers to impose them.
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The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that Trump doesn’t have the presidential authority to unilaterally impose tariffs using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act because it “violates the separations-of-powers doctrine.”
“Trump claims this law is the reason he can impose these tariffs, and he is wrong,” Bonta said at a news conference alongside Newsom in Stanislaus County, located in California’s Central Valley. “The truth is the IEEPA does not apply here. Trump has had to resort to creating bogus national emergencies that defy reason.”
The state is asking that the court declare the tariffs void and block their implementation.
Announcing the lawsuit on his latest podcast episode released Wednesday morning, Newsom said Trump doesn’t have “the unilateral authority to impose one of the largest tax increases in U.S. history,” emphasizing the impact of tariffs in potentially leading to higher prices.
Newsom continued, “Impacts of these tariffs are disproportionately being felt here in California, the No. 1 manufacturing state in America, a state that will be significantly impacted by this unilateral decision by the president of the United States.”
At the press conference, the Democratic governor denounced Republicans who control the House and Senate for not challenging Trump.
“Where the hell is Congress? Where the hell is Speaker Johnson? Do your job. They’re sitting there passively as this guy wrecks the economy in the United States of America, which has dominated the global economy.”
Newsom said California will defend people who voted for Trump, who the governor said didn’t follow through on his promises.
“I’m here because they’re disproportionately hurt by this, by the guy that’s betrayed them,” Newsom said. “Donald Trump is betraying the people of the Central Valley. He is betraying the people that supported him. Donald Trump has turned their back, his back, on his supporters. We will not turn our back on those that supported Donald Trump. We will have their back.”
Newsom is a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender and frequent Trump critic. On his recently launched podcast, he has hosted some conservatives, such as Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, as guests, drawing criticisms from fellow Democrats after seeming to agree with them on some issues, including the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Bonta said this is the 14th lawsuit his office has brought against the Trump administration in the last 14 weeks.
“The president is exercising authority that he doesn’t have,” he said at the press conference. “The president can’t do unlawful things. Really, it’s that simple. And he thinks he’s above the law. He’s not. He thinks he can violate the Constitution and the law, and he can’t. And so it’s up to us to hold him accountable to following the law.”
The lawsuit argues that Trump can’t use the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to unilaterally impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China or create an across-the-board 10% tariff.
Trump has imposed tariffs on most foreign countries, with China facing the largest amount, 145%, and other nations facing 10% after the president backed off last week from implementing higher duties for 90 days.
Trump touted the tariffs while speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, saying, “We’re making tremendous amounts of money, taking in billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs from other countries that, for many, many decades, just ripped off the United States. And it’s time that we not allow that to happen.”
Asked for comment on the state’s lawsuit Wednesday, White House spokesman Kush Desai said, “Instead of focusing on California’s rampant crime, homelessness, and unaffordability, Gavin Newsom is spending his time trying to block President Trump’s historic efforts to finally address the national emergency of our country’s persistent goods trade deficits.”
He added, “The entire Trump administration remains committed to addressing this national emergency that’s decimating America’s industries and leaving our workers behind with every tool at our disposal, from tariffs to negotiations.”
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