California Gov. Gavin Newsom taunted President Donald Trump on Friday over the DOJ seeking to move his lawsuit aimed at stopped tariffs out of the state.
"You scared?" Newsom said in a publication on X responding to the development. Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the suit questioning the president's authority to impose the sweeping tariffs that have set off a global trade war.
Filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, it argues that President Trump doesn't have the presidential authority to unilaterally impose tariffs using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. "Congress has the power to impose tariffs, not the president," Bonta told the Washington Post this week.
"The president has overreached again. He's welcome to exercise his authority within his given jurisdiction, but not outside his given authority," he added.
The Democratic governor, who has been a vocal critic of Trump and his administration, announced the lawsuit on his latest podcast episode, emphasizing the impact of tariffs in potentially leading to higher prices.
"Impacts of these tariffs are disproportionately being felt here in California, the No. 1 manufacturing state in America, a state that will be significantly impacted by this unilateral decision by the president of the United States," Newsom added.
In this context, the DOJ is seeking to take the lawsuit to a federal court in New York, arguing the dispute should be adjudicated in the U.S. Court of International Trade, as it has sole jurisdiction over matters related to tariffs.
California has the largest economy among U.S. states and is a massive exporter. In his announcement, Governor Newsom said his administration would defend his constituents and try to prevent the White House from further ensuing "chaos."
"President Trump's unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy— driving up prices and threatening jobs," he said in a statement. "We're standing up for American families who can't afford to let the chaos continue."
The lawsuit comes weeks after Newsom pleaded with foreign nations to spare California from retaliatory tariffs stemming from Trump's escalating trade war. He took to X to make his case in early April, telling countries across the world that not all Americans, particularly in his administration, agree with Trump's policies.
"Donald Trump's tariffs do not represent all Americans," Newsom posted. The 40 million residents of California, he said, live in "the tent pole of the U.S. economy" that represents 14% of the nation's GDP and is the fifth largest economy in the world.
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