TRANSCRIPT: Leader Schumer Slams Trump For Doubling Down On His Costly Tariffs Hours After SCOTUS Ruled His Trade War Was Illegal

New York, N.Y. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) held a press conference slamming Donald Trump for doubling down on his chaotic tariff policy that raises costs for American families on the same day that the Supreme Court ruled he did not have the power to impose his chaotic global trade war. Leader Schumer urged Republicans to join Democrats, reassert Congressional power, and protect American consumers by blocking Trump's reckless tariffs. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Today, the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs were unlawful. The Court agreed with what Democrats have said from day one-a president cannot ignore Congress and unilaterally slap these tariffs on the American people. Glaringly, amazingly, a vital and important point is missing from the President's speech-that his tariffs have dramatically increased costs on American families. Costs of so many things have gone up because of these tariffs, and the American people hate the tariffs because it has increased their costs.

For Donald Trump's speech to mention tariffs and not mention the costs they impose on American families shows that he's totally in a bubble. He has no understanding of what the average American family goes through. And what is he doing? After the Court gave the American people a few hours of relief, he's doubling down and reimposing those costs on them again, in a different way but a way that will hurt just as much. He is imposing new tariffs that will still raise people's costs and they will hurt the American people as much as his old tariffs did. Donald Trump is doubling down on hurting American families by raising their costs. And his speech, Donald Trump's speech, is just like his tariffs: erratic, disorganized, based on fiction. He just does not understand what Americans are going through.

Today's SCOTUS decision was a win for the wallets of every American consumer that carried the burden of Trump's stupid trade war, and now he's doing it all over again and hurting the American people. Trump's tariff tax was illegal and the courts agree. And let's call these for what they are: a tax on the American people. The tariffs that Trump imposed a year ago, that the courts knocked out, and the tariffs he's imposing now, are all taxes on the American people, raising their costs. Small businesses, farmers caught in the crossfire. From one corner of America to another, the American people are struggling with higher costs. And today, Trump said he's going to keep those costs on their shoulders.

The fact of the matter is these tariffs aren't tough on China, they are tough on American families. And the Senate has repeatedly voted on a bipartisan basis to reject this illegal trade war. Congress has the ultimate authority to undo the tariffs that Trump had imposed a year ago and the tariffs that Trump has imposed today. And we hope our Republican colleagues will join with us in rejecting these tariffs because they are such a burden on American families and the costs that they pay.

Again, one final point to reiterate, Congress has the ultimate authority to impose these tariffs. I am urging, for the sake of American families, pleading with my Republican colleagues to buck Donald Trump and not allow him to impose these tariffs on the American people. Congress has the power to do it and Congress should.

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