Thursday, May 29, 2025

Federal court strikes down Trump’s tariffs on countries around the world

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/28/federal-court-strikes-down-trumps-april-2-tariffs-00373843

Federal court strikes down Trump’s tariffs on countries around the world

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled unanimously that the president overstepped his powers in imposing the tariffs on dozens of trading partners, most of which he’s since paused.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while announcing new "reciprocal" tariffs on more than 60 trading partners during an event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The unanimous ruling of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade strikes a blow to one of the central planks of Trump’s economic agenda at a time he is seeking to use tariffs as leverage to strike trade deals around the world.

“Today’s court order is a victory not just for Oregon, but for working families, small businesses, and everyday Americans. President Trump’s sweeping tariffs were unlawful, reckless, and economically devastating,” said Oregon’s Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who filed one of the lawsuits challenging Trump’s tariffs, along with 11 other state attorneys general. “We brought this case because the Constitution doesn’t give any president unchecked authority to upend the economy. This ruling reaffirms that our laws matter, and that trade decisions can’t be made on the president’s whim.”

The court’s ruling also means that the government may have to pay back duties it has already collected. “Anybody that has had to pay tariffs so far will be able to get them refunded,” said Ilya Somin, a professor of law at George Mason University, who helped argue a case against the tariffs brought by several small businesses.

The Justice Department quickly filed an appeal, setting the stage for more legal arguments over the extent of Trump’s tariff authorities. Ultimately, the case could end up at the Supreme Court.

Trump had justified his imposition of tariffs on dozens of countries based on declarations of national emergencies related to fentanyl trafficking and the threat of persistent trade deficits. Trump also imposed retaliatory tariffs on countries that responded in kind.

But the court found that the federal law that authorizes the president to impose tariffs, embargoes and sanctions in response to national emergencies — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 — “does not authorize the President to impose unbounded tariffs.”

“The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the New York-based federal court, which hears cases on trade laws, said in its opinion.

The court’s ruling nullified Trump’s executive orders imposing 25 percent duties on Canadian and Mexican products and a 20 percent tariff on Chinese products in response to a purported national emergency on drug trafficking. It also struck down a 10 percent tariff imposed on all U.S. trading partners to address trade deficits, as well as Trump’s paused “reciprocal” tariffs of between 20 and 50 percent on 60-odd trading partners, which are now scheduled to go into effect on July 9 if foreign governments can’t reach a deal with the White House before then.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, in arguments last week before the CIT, said a ruling that barred Trump from collecting the tariffs would “kneecap” the president’s efforts to strike new trade deals between now and July 8, including with leading trading partners such as Japan, India and the European Union.

“An injunction would be extremely disruptive while the president is in the middle of foreign negotiations with other countries about trade deficits and about the fentanyl crisis,” Shumate added.

It’s the latest legal rejection for Trump on a centerpiece of his policy agenda. Federal judges have blocked key planks of his mass deportation agenda, restricted efforts to dismantle several federal agencies and slowed efforts to mass terminate federal employees from some agencies.

A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wednesday evening ruling covers a case brought by V.O.S. Selections, a New York-based wine company, and several other small businesses, and a separate case filed by Oregon and 11 other Democrat-led states challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s actions. It was delivered by a three-judge panel that included Obama appointee Gary Katzmann, Reagan appointee Jane Restani and Trump appointee Timothy Reif. No specific judge was identified as the author of the court’s opinion.

Trump could also attempt to impose the same tariffs under other laws, said Nazak Nikakhtar, who worked on trade issues at the Commerce Department during the first Trump administration and is now a partner at the law firm Wiley Rein. “The president still has ample authority to impose reciprocal tariffs, just through other legal means,” Nikakhtar said.

But Somin, the George Mason University law professor, was skeptical that Trump would be able to use other authorities to replicate his reciprocal tariff program.

“I don’t think they could impose anything this sweeping under another statute,” Somin said. “The reason why they wanted to use IEEPA in the first place is because they thought that it could grant them this vast, sweeping authority they couldn’t get otherwise.”

The ruling does not affect other tariffs Trump has imposed, such as those under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to levy new duties on national security grounds. Trump used the provision in March to widen existing steel and aluminum tariffs and slap a 25 percent duty on foreign auto imports. The administration has launched several other Section 232 investigations that could lead to future tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and a number of other products.

That process is slower, however, requiring the administration to first conduct a national security review and solicit public comment before moving forward with the duties. Using the emergency law allowed the White House to act much more quickly.

“Enacting broad-based tariffs via IEEPA was always legally risky, but to enjoin them is surprising and an immense relief for importers at the moment,” said Scott Lincicome, the director of economics at the Cato Institute, a free market think tank. “The big question is whether it will hold up on appeal.”

Several other suits challenging Trump’s tariffs have been filed in federal district courts around the country, including one brought by the state of California and another by members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe who live in Montana and Canada.

Earlier this month, a judge in Florida ordered a case brought by a local paper products company to be transferred to the CIT and a judge in another case filed in the District Court for Washington, D.C. heard oral arguments on Tuesday.

The Justice Department has been pressing to move all of the cases to the CIT in New York, arguing that it was established by Congress to hear cases involving tariffs and had exclusive jurisdiction. However, any hopes it may have had for a more sympathetic reception in the CIT than in the federal district courts evaporated on Wednesday.

“The U.S. Court of International Trade agreed with what I and others have said for months: Trump was clearly abusing emergency authorities in ways not authorized by Congress to impose damaging tariffs on other countries, with obviously pretextual excuses,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said in a statement. He has introduced legislation with Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) that challenged Trump’s use of IEEPA to impose tariffs.

Beyer and DelBene said the court’s ruling reinforced their calls for Congress to act to reassert its constitutional authority over trade deals.

Megan Messerly, Hassan Kanu and Ari Hawkins contributed to this report.

How safe is the food supply after federal cutbacks? Experts are worried

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/29/nx-s1-5413449/food-safety-inspection-fda-usda

Shots - Health News

How safe is the food supply after federal cutbacks? Experts are worried

May 29, 20255:00 AM ET

Yuki Noguchi

Federal inspectors identified listeria contamination in some Boar's Head deli meats last year.

Federal agencies identified listeria contamination in some Boar's Head deli meats last year. Since Trump's cuts to federal agencies, experts worry inspectors can't keep up with demand.

Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Paula Soldner inspected meat and poultry plants around southern Wisconsin for 38 years: "I'm talking brats, hot dogs, summer sausage, pizza."

Her Department of Agriculture job required daily check-ups on factories to ensure slicers were cleaned on schedule, for example. Her signoff allowed plants to put red-white-and-blue "USDA inspected" stickers on grocery-store packages.

Last month, Soldner took the Trump administration up on its offer of early retirement, joining an exodus from the Food Safety and Inspection Service that began under President Biden's reorganization of the agency last year. Soldner, who also chairs the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, says remaining inspectors must now visit eight facilities — double the usual number — each day.

Boar's Head meats are displayed at a Safeway store on July 31, 2024 in San Rafael, Calif. The USDA released a new report on what led to the listeria outbreak.

Food

USDA report finds Boar's Head listeria outbreak was due to poor sanitation practices

That's not possible, she says, so it's unclear how much food is legitimately earning that stamp of approval.

"Did that plant receive that daily inspection from inspection personnel? In my mind, that's a huge question mark," Soldner says.

She says further staff retirements, hostility toward federal workers, and plummeting morale are creating conditions that make consumers more vulnerable to outbreaks of foodborne illness, like the deadly listeria contamination that hit Boar's Head deli meats last year, killing 10 people and hospitalizing dozens.

"Do I foresee another Boar's Head situation? Absolutely," she says. "I worry about the public."

Experts who study the nation's food supply say the safety of everything we eat — from milk and macaroni to meat and lettuce — is called into question because of massive cuts by the Trump administration to the three federal agencies charged with monitoring it: the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those three agencies coordinate and fund a lot of the complex work that makes up the country's food safety surveillance system, while state and local regulators and inspectors conduct a lot of work on the ground.

A recall notice citing listeria contamination risks is posted next to a case featuring Boar's Head meats in a Safeway store in San Rafael, Calif.

Food

Yes, the number of food recalls has been rising. Here's what you need to know

Most produce is inspected by states, for example, though select samples are sent to one of the FDA's national labs to test for pathogens like salmonella or E.coli. When a consumer falls ill, it's often the local health officials who are first to know and then report cases to the CDC, which in turn traces the contamination to its sources and compiles data.

"Our federal food safety system is teetering on the brink of a collapse," says Sarah Sorscher, a policy expert at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She's most concerned about the loss of expertise from recent job cuts.

But she also worries about policy moves like the administration's rollback of new USDA food-safety rules set last August that would have limited the amount of salmonella in poultry in order for it to be sold. Instead, the agency said it is reevaluating the issue and whether salmonella regulations need updating at all.

In statements emailed to NPR, FDA and USDA said recent streamlining of their operations will not alter their commitment to food safety. USDA announced Tuesday that it boosted funds to reimburse states for food safety inspections by $14.5 million.

In a separate emailed statement, the USDA called its inspectors' work "critical," and said therefore inspectors were exempt from its hiring freeze, and its "front-line inspectors and veterinarians were not offered the opportunity to participate" in the agency's second early retirement offer in April "because of the essential nature of their work."

However, NPR reviewed emails sent from USDA officials urging inspectors to take the early retirement deal and confirming their eligibility for it, as well as a document listing eligible job categories, including consumer safety inspector and slaughterhouses inspectors.

Last month, the Trump administration also abruptly shuttered two of the FDA's seven food testing labs in San Francisco and Chicago, according to several FDA staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

The ensuing chaos delayed seafood inspections and routine produce testing, the FDA staffers, including microbiologists working in different labs, told NPR. Samples of lettuce or fruit had to be shipped in ice-packed containers to redirect them to other labs, where a shortage of staff and basic lab supplies such as plastic pipettes and other testing supplies, makes it difficult to triage the workload.

This month, the administration reopened the two labs, but Sorscher, who leads regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says damage has been done. "It's as if you took a chainsaw and started cutting holes out of the walls of a house," she says. "You can't really point to the fact that the doors or windows are still there and say, 'Don't worry, the house is secure.'"

The CDC said in an emailed statement that its lab, surveillance and data collection work continues and that the agency "remains prepared to respond to, and work with states on those outbreaks."

But many of the state and local food-safety programs historically funded by the CDC are at risk, says Steven Mandernach, executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials. Budgets and staffing have been cut at CDC, which affects how it supports local programs. The CDC, for example, typically funded staff to notify the public in the event of outbreaks, or to help remove dangerous products from shelves, as they did with lead-contaminated apple sauce pouches in 2023.

Mandernach says many states can no longer afford staff dedicated to public communications. So he worries about delayed warnings and less robust local tracking of cases that would affect national data.

"It could artificially make it look like, 'Hey, food safety is great here,' when the reality is we're not looking for it as much," he says.

people are saying

make america grape again

render unto donald the things that are donald’s — so how the hell can anyone steal the election from trunp?

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

the 40 days of trumpmas - a surreal serial poem

guyhair1_517UcgHYK3L._AC_UL320_SR256_320_.png

Remember, remember! The fifth of trumpvember

the 40 days of trumpmas - a serial poem

for 40 days the trumpeter reigns,

his lies and hate on whom he disdains,

but election day will come so soon,

we'll no longer hear the orange baboon;

in 39 days full of world wide problems.

we could elect him to get rid of the muslims,

but as he'll rant on trivialities of his presidential life,

what could be worse? - you could be his wife;

in 38 days just what will you do?

the donald has said he likes lgbtq,

but as he bullies his women and all his men too,

if youre questioning, what stops him from bullying you?

in just 37 days, some people are saying,

(or pleading or hoping or some even praying)

the duke of prunes will dye his forelock purple my friend,

and thus make america grape again,

our days are down to just 36,

before our problems the don will fix,

he will on day one do what hes said - true,

he'll wall out our enemies - and fat women too!

on the 35th day of trumpmas

yes just seven weeks remain!

will the polls and tallies deliver us

donald with his golden mane?

34 days and the vice-pipers have piped,

though pence didnt say why donalds suit shouldnt be striped,

he wouldnt defend his master's string pulling,

to make america great? - who do they think they're fooling?

just 33 days till the macho tornado,

unless its blown away by hurricane machado,

with women and voters he has so much to loose.

keep your mouth shut donald (unless youre changing your shoes)

32 days and we’ve been hit by the big blowhard,

donald spoke here in fla (oh, we had a hurricane too)

this administration gives us playing the race card, a weak economy, and unemployment

but if you want a job you could be donald’s campaign manager (unless youre a jew)

31 days, just a month, remains;

will the donald say hes sorry, and his baser impulses restrain?

or keep blaming bill clinton for our moral demise;

when trump speaks to us, our NO votes must be our replies!

election comes this time (in 30 days) each 4 years,

time for praise and tears and fears;

as polls will open in many states,

vote early, please dont vote late!

down to 29, just a leap february,

and theres still the donald quite

contrary;

donald donald, how does your garden grow?

quoth the master debater, "with pretty maids groped in a row"

just 28 days - later or soon,

and the zombies will rise, led by the big goon;

unless everyone gets a reality inoculation,

i might have to move to canada for a well deserved vacation;

now just 27, less than 4 weeks,

no time for you to say 'yikes!' or 'eeeks!'

obama wants to go to mars and colonize it for man,

lets send trump tomorrow! and colonize it for orangutan!

26 days are all that remain,

will our democracy and economy go down the drain?

if we all keep listening to the blustering oaf,

will he give jobs and prosperity? - or just half a loaf

25 days - will more women speak?,

of the antics of donald who the presidency seeks,

dating 14 year old girls or groping their mothers,

how did the gop pick him over the others?,

24 days - were down to two dozen,

the next woman who speaks just might be your cousin,

or mother or sister, aunt, niece, even daughter,

describing the circumstance in which donald caught her,

23 days left and trump doesnt yet have as many accusers,

as cosby, but he assures us that they are all really losers,

sent by bankers or hillary with secret agendas,

to disrupt our election of him - our defender!,

22 days and we know charity begins at home,

but donalds attention is so prone to roam,

his gift that disappeared to 911 survivors from his foundation?,

oops! maybe donald spent it on a vacation,

21 days and trump says the election may be rig-ly,

if hes not the winner and his total's not big-ly,

tremendously higher than hillary gets,

he warns his supporters may all lose their wits,

20 days left and while george zimmerman still walks free,

the man who shot at HIM got 20 years - while trayvon got eternity,

trump wants us to support our cops and maintain law and order,

he'll put all the inner city dwellers in jail, and send the immigrant criminals far across the border,

19 days left till we all go to pretend,

to elect someone to lead us, as if on it our lives depend,

but wise man, donald trump, already really knows,

who we really voted for - a wolf in president's clothes?,

18 days and we bad hombres demand a rebate,

on the ill feelings left since the comments of one candidate,

the debaters have met in their final grudge match,

but only donald can say from whose hands victory will be snatched,

17 days and our government is corrupt with quid pro quo,

did you take latin at wharton? is that how you know?,

donald wants us to fire at them all - the bureaucrats lined up in rows,

and believe me, corruption is a subject. that donald really knows,

16 days - lets set term limits on all our office holders,

and put all our women in binders - or maybe in folders,

donalds endless complaints are becoming a sour whine,

have a little cheese with that, from wisconsin, where

hillary's doing fine,

15 days and on stocking covered thighs did linger,

two miniature hands with two thumbs and eight tiny fingers,

they belonged to the donald who believed that he owned,

any thing that he wanted - or anyone he got alone,

14 days yes only two weeks,

till the duke of orange assends to the throne he seeks?,

to rule all americans, the strong and the weak?,

and dominate the globe with power that's peak?,

the 13th day to go - does that seem unlucky?,

not for donald whos lately been appearing quite plucky,

claiming media, polls, and parties are against him,

and rallying his multitudes with wit waxing dim,

on the 12th day of trumpmas donald awoke with a jerk,

promptly fired his latest campaign manager (who considered that a perk),

if youre "AAAfroAAAmurikan" and unemployed i can put you to work,

barked donald the businessman from behind his sly smirk,

it's the 11th and engineer casey trump is in the caboose,

i hear some of you saying oh no! what's the use,

our campaign will probably just go off the tracks,

but donald says its ok - cause he's got "the blacks",

just ten days left yes only one-zero,

til donald is hoping that he'll be your hero,

as new hillary emails come under investigation,

donald hopes to rename camp david to camp donald for

his vacations,

like a cat has nine lives we're left with only 9 days,

till we're subject to donald? and his old wicked ways,

on foreign affairs he says he'll save us from isis,

but his domestic affairs are misogyny and crisis,

our days are numbered - yes only eight,

till once again we make america great,

by getting rid of candidates who have nothing to add,

goodbye donald you wont make america sad,

just one week to go - its day minus seven,

till america's lifted above - to trumpty dump heaven?,

where for rich folks like donald opportunity abounds,

and we keep the working poor with a wall that surrounds,

how the time it does fly its already day 6,

till americans problems the donald will fix,

his solutions begin on trumpday number one,

dont you like them? they'll come at the barrel of a gun,

Five days to go, baby, One in five,

No one here gets out alive, now,

david dukes not opposed to all jews,

he backs trump - who are you going to choose?,

only 4 days left till the armaged-don,

he'll seize power by the horns once he has won,

and donnie will be what he longs for - a winner,

using the FBI to wreak havoc on hillary the sinner,

only three left, just a triad of days,

and the donald his supporters continues to amaze,

with hoopla and folderoll made up in his head,

his winning temperament will leave us all dead,

just a pair of days - 2 - till trump paradise,

since these words you're reading please heed my advice,

the creatures that surround us are beginning to bite,

'blacks for trump' fear the Illuminati so lets turn out their light,

just a single day left till our thanksgiving,

deliver us from donald and preserve the living,

forget sanity and disgard your misgivings,

but pray hard to your gods that they'll be forgiving,

since we've got the nukes why can't we use'em?,

on the road to 2016 why couldn't we lose HIM?,

and trumpmas now has finally come,

the tallies will count up to a winning sum,

unless the earth is struck soon by a cataclysmic comet,

to elect a candidate who just makes you want to vomit?,

we wish you a merry trumpmas at this time each 4 years,

if you have'nt voted you've lost the chance to mitigate your fears,

cause donald duck is ready to lead, forget your crocodile tears,

so you'd better get the vaseline and lubricate your rears!

Far Frum

make america grape again

the republican american traditions, that donald's wandered so far from?, even david frum is voting for clinton!

How Trump Plans to Avoid a Potential Third Impeachment Donald Trump is scrambling to keep Republicans in power.

https://newrepublic.com/feeds/168326/breaking-news

Most Recent Post

Edith Olmsted

May 27, 2025/4:28 p.m. ET

Donald Trump is scrambling to keep Republicans in power.

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Donald Trump has a five-step plan to keep Republican control of the House of Representatives in 2026, as part of a desperate bid to stave off yet another impeachment inquiry, Axios reported Tuesday.

There is no shortage of potential subjects for an impeachment inquiry. Trump has openly profited from his seat, and helped his allies get rich too—whether by manipulating the market or by turning administration officials into salespeople. Not to mention, he claims to have accepted a massive gift from a foreign government, likely violating the U.S. Constitution. Suffice it to say, Trump needs to keep the Democrats out of power.

Trump “knows the stakes firsthand. He saw what can happen. It’s clear he doesn’t want that again,” Matt Gorman, a top official for House Republicans’ campaign arm in the 2018 midterms, told Axios.

“Investigations, impeachment—he knows it’s all on the table with a Speaker [Hakeem] Jeffries.”

In an effort to maintain a GOP-led House, the president will try to prevent lawmakers from leaving their seats, either to retire or to run for another office. Any defections could hurt the party’s chances of retaining the seats and cost millions of dollars—which could hurt them come the next general election.

Earlier this month, Trump endorsed New York Representative Mike Lawler to keep his seat, despite the congressman’s ambitions to run for governor. Last week, during a contentious meeting with Republicans to secure the passage of the president’s “big beautiful bill,” Lawler had fought to restore state and local tax, or SALT, deductions—in part, to boost his viability as a candidate statewide—but failed. Trump told him to forget the SALT, warning, “I know your district better than you do. If you lose because of SALT, you were going to lose anyway.”

The Trump team is already concerned over the defections of Michigan Representative John James, who has opted to run for governor, and Kentucky Representative Andy Barr, who is leaving his seat to run for Senate.

In that same vein, an essential part of Trump’s plan involves shutting down primary challenges. If the president endorses vulnerable Republicans in the early stages of their races, it could potentially ward off challengers. Over the weekend, Trump made posts endorsing New York Representative Andrew Garbarino and Montana Representative Troy Downing. Although Downing handily defeated his Democratic challenger, he’d also had to defeat eight Republican challengers in the primary.

The next two steps of Trump’s plan are to raise big and spend big. The president has proven to be the GOP’s most effective fundraiser, raising more than $35 million for the cowardly National Republican Congressional Committee at a dinner in April. More events like these are sure to fill the party’s coffers ahead of the midterm elections.

Additionally, Trump’s political operation already has about half a million dollars ready to spend on future elections, and has launched a massive ad campaign backing the president’s tax plan, which will cost an estimated $5.3 trillion over the next decade.

Finally, the president will get hands-on with his recruitment. Gorman explained that the president would act as a “closer,” bringing in candidates to run in swing districts.

Trump Pardons Massive Tax Cheat After Mom Attended $1 Million Dinner