Trump Threatens Countries That ‘Play Games’ on Tariffs

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By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Happy Monday from a snow-covered New York! President Trump will deliver his State of the Union address tomorrow at a time when the state of his presidency is shaky: His approval ratings are dismal, the Supreme Court just struck down many of his beloved tariffs and the Department of Homeland Security remains mired in a shutdown that is now in its 10th day, with little sign of any progress toward a resolution. Will Trump outline a legislative agenda for the rest of the year or the rest of his term? Will he again claim that he "won affordability" and dismiss economic concerns that polls find are paramount with voters? Will he attack Supreme Court justices sitting a few feet away? What do you want to hear from the president?

Trump Threatens Countries That 'Play Games' on Tariffs

President Trump continues to rail against the Supreme Court and the decision it handed down Friday that invalidated many of his tariffs. In a series of posts on his social media site, Trump again criticized the ruling, calling it "ridiculous" and "dumb." As he did on Friday, he again insisted that the court had given him "far more powers and strength" and had approved other ways for him to impose tariffs, adding that those other paths "can all be used in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty."

Trump on Friday announced that he had signed an executive order imposing a temporary 10% global tariff starting tomorrow. He then followed up Saturday and said those global tariffs would be 15% instead, the maximum allowed under the law, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

As part of his social media tirade on Monday, Trump also insisted that countries that have struck trade deals with his administration must abide by those agreements even if they call for higher rates than his Section 122 tariffs.

"Any Country that wants to 'play games' with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have 'Ripped Off' the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to," Trump wrote, intentionally leaving the "supreme court" in lowercase letters "based on a complete lack of respect!"

No president had ever invoked Section 122, and Trump's action could lead to further legal challenges. But the tariffs imposed under that law also require congressional approval to be extended after 150 days - something Trump is unlikely to get given opposition to tariffs from lawmakers in both parties.

"Senate Democrats will continue to fight back against Trump's tariff tax and will block any attempt to extend these harmful tariffs when they expire this summer," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday. "Democrats will not go along with furthering Trump's economic carnage."

Trump is already looking for other options. He said in a social media post on Saturday that he will use the "next short number of months" to work on other "legally permissible" tariffs.

Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged on Monday that lawmakers aren't likely to be able to come together in support of Trump's tariffs. "It's going to be, I think, a challenge to find consensus on any path forward on the tariffs on the legislative side," the speaker told reporters. "And so that is why I think we see so much of the attention on the executive side."

What about tariff refunds? The Supreme Court decision did not address what should be done with the money collected under the Trump import levies it deemed illegal - a total that reportedly stood at $133 billion as of mid-December but could end up topping $175 billion, according to various estimates.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh echoed Justice Amy Coney Barrett's warning during oral arguments that the refund process was likely to be a "mess."

It's true. Trade experts expect importers to get the money back, eventually - and they don't expect consumers to benefit much, if at all. But the refund process is likely to be bumpy and involve plenty of additional legal proceedings before the Court of International Trade and other lower courts. "The Supreme Court remanded it down to a lower court," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN on Sunday. "And, you know, we will follow what they say, but that could be weeks or months when we hear them."

A group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Ron Wyden, Ed Markey and Jeanne Shaheen introduced legislation Monday that would require the Trump administration to fully refund the revenue collected under the tariffs struck down by the high court. The Tariff Refund Act of 2026 would also have the administration pay interest on the tariff money collected and to process all refunds within 180 days.

"Our bill would require the tariffs to be refunded and level the playing field-putting small importers and small businesses first in the refund process and eliminating needless administrative barriers," Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in a statement. "It's Main Street and working families that paid Trump's tariff taxes, and we must ensure they get their money back-not big corporations."

Democratic Reps. Steven Horsford and Janelle Bynum introduced similar legislation on Friday, though their Restoring Economic Lifelines for Independent Enterprises and Family Businesses (RELIEF) Act would require refunds within 90 days of enactment.

The Democratic bills are unlikely to get through the Republican-controlled Congress, especially during an election season in which the White House opposes them and continues to staunchly defend Trump's tariff agenda.

"Democrats spent decades talking about lopsided 'free' trade deals, reshoring middle-class manufacturing jobs, and lowering prescription drug prices," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to news outlets. "President Trump used tariffs to actually deliver where Democrats could only talk, so naturally Democrats are rolling up their sleeves to undermine President Trump and the American people - pathetic but unsurprising."

Democrats will be able to counter such claims with their own political attacks based on the court's ruling - and fueled by the complexity of the refund issue and the administration's apparent reluctance to smooth that process.

"The Trump administration has asserted that its hands are tied, because any refunds should be the responsibility of further litigation in court," writes Josh Boak of the Associated Press. "That message could put Republicans on the defensive as they try to explain why the government isn't proactively seeking to return the money."

DHS Restricts Services as Shutdown Continues

The Department of Homeland Security announced Saturday that a program that provides expedited clearance for low-risk international travelers is being suspended due to the partial government shutdown now in its 10th day.

In a press release, DHS said the Global Entry program operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection is being suspended "to reserve limited funds and personnel to mitigate the national security and public safety damage" caused by the shutdown.

Additionally, DHS said it was halting all non-disaster-related efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as suspending airport police escorts for members of Congress.

Reversing course: DHS originally announced that it was also suspending the PreCheck program for domestic travelers run by the Transportation Security Administration, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declaring that "shutdowns have real world consequences." But the department reversed course under a barrage of criticism.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, accused the Trump administration of punishing travelers for political reasons, while Chris Sununu, president of the trade association Airlines for America, said that air travelers had become a "political football" as DHS moves to restrict services.

Some critics noted that shutting PreCheck could actually make things harder for TSA employees, since PreCheck travelers reduce processing time for travelers. "We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making," said Geoff Freeman, president of the U.S. Travel Association.

Although it allowed PreCheck to continue to function, DHS said that it "will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly" as staffing restraints arise.

Talks may pick up: Lawmakers are in a stalemate in talks over funding for DHS, with Democrats calling for significant reforms at Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the death of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration.

On Sunday, the White House sent Democrats a list of steps that have been taken to rein in ICE's enforcement activities in recent days in Minneapolis, including the use of body cameras by ICE agents, but the two sides still seem far apart, with Democrats demanding far more extensive reforms.

Some lawmakers hope that negotiations over DHS funding can shift into a higher gear after President Trump delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. "Once the State of the Union is over, then I'm sure talks will come back in," Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin told The Hill.

But it may take more than that to move things along. Some lawmakers believe that the first missed paychecks for DHS workers on February 27 could provide the "pain point" that spurs greater interest in making a deal.

Still, there are few signs that either side is willing to back down. "If we do not stand up against this lawlessness that we see this administration engaging in, then what is left for us?" Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto told The New York Times last week. "If you carry out to the logical conclusion that this administration has created their own police force, that they're made up of individuals who don't follow normal protocols that police follow to keep our communities safe, and they're doing just the opposite, and they are sending them out under the guise of immigration enforcement, what's next for them?"

"I don't know the pathway," Cortez Masto said. "I can only say at this moment and this time, the changes that we are demanding have to occur."

Number of the Day: 36%

Just 36% of Americans approve of the job President Trump is doing, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. That's only slightly worse than the 39% approval rating for Trump in a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll in which 47% of respondents said they strongly disapprove of the president's performance.

The CNN survey found that just 32% of Americans say that Trump has had the right priorities, compared to 68% who say he has given short shrift to the country's most important problems. Among a slew of negative results for Trump, the CNN poll also found that his approval rating among political independents has dropped 15 percentage points over the past year to 26%, the lowest it's been in either of his terms.

Asked what one issue they most want to hear Trump address in his State of the Union speech, 57% chose the economy and cost of living, far more than the 13% who cited immigration, the 11% who mentioned the state of American democracy or the 7% who pointed to healthcare policy.

Quote of the Day

"What you're going to expect is some version of a campaign speech in which the Democrats are the villains, the Republicans he likes are the heroes, and he is the savior not only of the nation but of the globe."

  • Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a communications professor at the University of Pennsylvania, predicting what Trump's State of the Union speech will be like, in a preview piece from the Associated Press.

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