U.S. Senators send letter demanding U.S. Treasury give Americans their money back
WASHINGTON, DC – “You need to give the people their money back.” That is the simple message U.S. Senators Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, and 22 of their Democratic colleagues are sending to the Trump Administration after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that invalidated President Trump’s misuse of emergency powers law for tariffs.
As Senate Democrats continue fighting to rein in President Trump’s price-hiking trade wars and chaotic economic policies that are raising prices on hardworking families and small businesses alike, Reed and Whitehouse say the Trump Administration must quickly develop a plan to refund the American people, who were unfairly forced to pay the inflated costs of Trump’s ‘so-called emergency’ tariffs.
On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. that the Trump Administration abused its authorities under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose broad-based tariffs. Trump’s illegal tariff taxes cost small businesses, consumers, and families over $130 billion.
Today, Reed, Whitehouse, and 22 Senate Democrats sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding the Trump Administration refund those who were unfairly forced to pay the costs of Trump’s ‘so-called emergency’ tariffs.
Noting Secretary Bessent’s previous public assurance in January that refunds “won’t be a problem” if the U.S. Supreme Cort ruled against Trump’s tariffs, the Senate Democrats’ letter points out the Trump administration “collected over $130 billion in illegal taxes and then refused — with a smile and a shrug — to give it back.”
The letter urges the Trump Administration to direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection “to begin processing automatic refunds for all tariffs and customs duties unlawfully collected under IEEPA since Jan. 20, 2025.” It urges CBP to “immediately” launch the refund process within the next 90 days and to prioritize the needs of those hit hardest by these tariffs, including small businesses.
“You need to give the people their money back,” the 24 U.S. Senators wrote. “The American people — small business owners, importers, manufacturers, and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes — deserve better than this stonewalling. This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.”
Returning the funds to Americans should not be that difficult, given that Trump Administration lawyers themselves argued in lower courts that the administration would need to refund the money if the tariffs got struck down.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling was not, as you characterized it, ‘a loss for the American people.’ It was a reaffirmation that no president is above the law,” the lawmakers concluded.
In addition to Reed and Whitehouse the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
Full text of the letter follows:
Dear Secretary Bessent:
Your comments following the Supreme Court’s decision to correctly invalidate this administration’s illegal tariff regime are completely unacceptable, as is the administration’s apparent decision to deny automatic refunds of these illegally collected tariffs.
On Friday, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, you said “the American people won’t see” the billions of dollars in tariff revenue unlawfully collected from them. Then, on Sunday, you doubled down, dismissing questions about refunds as “bad framing,” repeatedly insisting the matter is “up to the lower court” rather than the administration, and refusing to answer whether small business owners who bore the cost of these illegal tariffs would ever get their money back.
These statements stand in direct contradiction to your own prior commitments and are a slap in the face to American businesses and families who you illegally taxed by well over $130 billion. In January, you said that issuing tariff refunds “won’t be a problem” for the Treasury, and that “if the court says it, we’d have to do it.” The Court has said it. In a 6-3 ruling, it found that the president exceeded his legal authority. You need to give the people their money back.
The American people — small business owners, importers, manufacturers, and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes — deserve better than this stonewalling. This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.
The administration must immediately:
1. Direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin processing automatic refunds for all tariffs and customs duties unlawfully collected under IEEPA since January 20, 2025;
2. Establish a transparent and expeditious refund process that prioritizes small businesses and ensures that funds are returned to those who bore the costs;
3. Provide a clear public timeline — no longer than 90 days — for the initiation of refund disbursements; and,
4. Cease any efforts to delay, condition, or deny refunds pending further litigation, in keeping with your prior assurances that refunds would be issued if the Court ruled.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was not, as you characterized it, “a loss for the American people.” It was a reaffirmation that no president is above the law. The true loss for the American people would be an administration that collected over $130 billion in illegal taxes and then refused — with a smile and a shrug — to give it back. If this administration does not act, Congress will.
Sincerely,
