California Governor Gavin Newsom said that he has initiated a lawsuit against Donald Trump‘s administration challenging the president’s authority to impose tariffs.
On his podcast posted today, Newsom said that the lawsuit will assert “that Trump does not have the unilateral authority to impose one of the largest tax increases in history. Impacts of these tariffs are disproportionately being felt here in California, the number one manufacturing state in America.”
The state’s lawsuit will challenge Trump’s triggering of the International Emergency Powers Act to impose the tariffs, arguing that the Constitution gives that authority to Congress.
Trump imposed 10% baseline tariffs across the globe, and a 145% tariff on Chinese imports. That has set off a trade war with Beijing, which has responded with a series of its own measures. That includes a rollback in the number of U.S. film releases allowed in the country each year.
Mexico, Canada and China were the state’s top export markets in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. China was the top import market.
Newsom is planning a press conference this morning.
The governor has generally kept a lower profile when it comes to challenging Trump in his initial months in office, as the Newsom has sought federal government help in the recovery from the devastating wildfires. In his first weeks in office, Trump visited the state to survey the devastation, and Newsom greeted him at the airport for what appeared to be a genial conversation. It’s expected that an additional federal emergency relief appropriation will need congressional approval, given the scale of the devastation in the Palisades and Altadena.
Trump has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
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