Nearly 200 Democratic lawmakers have filed a legal brief supporting a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs. 

The brief bolsters a group of small businesses and Democratic-led states suing to block Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in advance of appeal arguments later this month.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led 28 Democratic senators and 162 House Democrats in the filing, calling the president’s use of the IEEPA an “unlawful abuse of emergency powers.” 

“The President’s reckless tariff agenda has caused economic chaos and raised prices for families and businesses across the country at a moment in which the cost of living is far too high,” Shaheen said in a statement to The Hill.

“This brief makes clear that IEEPA cannot be used to impose tariffs. We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to push back against the Administration’s effort to tax goods American households and small businesses rely on.”

Among those joining Shaheen in signing the letter are Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.); Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), chair of the House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force; Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

No Republican lawmaker submitted a brief backing Trump.

The Democratic lawmakers’ brief takes the challengers’ maximalist position, contending the IEEPA does not grant the president authority to issue tariffs in any scenario. 

“Unmoored from the structural safeguards Congress built into actual tariff statutes, the President’s unlawful ‘emergency’ tariffs under IEEPA have led to chaos and uncertainty,” the brief reads.

Citing emergencies over trade deficits and an influx of fentanyl, Trump has invoked the law to impose his “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs and a series of levies on China, Mexico and Canada that date back to February.

A federal trade court blocked them in late May by ruling the IEEPA, if nothing else, doesn’t give Trump the “unbounded” tariff authority he asserts. The administration is now appealing, and the case is scheduled for oral arguments on July 31 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Federal Circuit has lifted the block until it resolves the case. And while several other lawsuits proceeding at a slower pace also remain pending, no court ruling blocks any of Trump’s tariffs.

Trump has imposed a 10 percent tariff on countries across the globe but has routinely moved the goalposts on reciprocal tariffs that he initially intended to put into effect in April. While announcing new trade deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, Trump has now sent letters to at least 12 countries detailing new tariff benchmarks which are expected to go into effect on Aug. 1. 

“The tariffs have already achieved successes,” the administration wrote in its opening appeal brief. “They have spurred ongoing negotiations on trade agreements with major trading partners and have already produced the general terms of a historic trade deal with the United Kingdom.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he will not move the date that tariffs go into effect.

“TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting AUGUST 1, 2025 – No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”