House Democrats are trying to block President-elect Donald Trump from implementing his wide-ranging tariff plans just days before he is set to take office.
A new bill led by Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., and backed by 11 other Democrats, would block Trump from using presidential emergency powers to roll out higher import taxes.
During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.
He most recently pledged on Truth Social to create an ‘External Revenue Service’ to ‘collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.’
Trump and his allies have argued that the plan would bolster American manufacturing while making it more difficult for adversaries like China to ‘export their way out of their current economic malaise,’ as Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent told senators this week.
In theory, the commander in chief is able to bypass Congress to impose sweeping tariffs by declaring an emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
However, Democrats argue the cost of the tariffs would just be passed on to American consumers.
‘The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns,’ DelBene said in a statement. ‘Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses.’
Beyer said, ‘Trump’s tariff proposals would misuse emergency authorities to raise prices on the American people, which is unacceptable.’
However, not all Democrats have rejected the plan.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, a moderate Democrat known to often break from his own party, introduced his own bill this week to impose a universal 10% tariff on all imports.
The 10% level would be reassessed each year, with room for a 5% increase or decrease depending on current U.S. economic conditions.
He argued in a statement to the Maine Morning Star, ‘The universal tariff — along with other policies to support domestic energy production, unions and manufacturing — is designed to reorient our economy from one focused on cheap goods and consumption to one centered on production and innovation.’
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on both bills.
