New Hampshire’s four Democratic members of Congress have signed on to an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that argues President Donald Trump exceeds his authority by unilaterally imposing tariffs.
U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, along with U.S. Reps. Christopher Pappas and Maggie Goodlander, are among the 171 House Democrats and 36 Democratic and Republican senators who are co-signers on the brief in the case filed by 12 states attorneys general (Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al.).
They are unanimous in regarding the Trump tariffs as “a national sales tax.”
Trump’s on-again, off-again, on-again tariffs are “imposing the biggest tax increase in modern American history at huge costs to families and businesses. This bipartisan brief makes clear that no president — Republican or Democrat — can sidestep that responsibility,” Shaheen said.
When Trump, soon after office in January 2025, started his volley of tariffs at any and all countries that ship goods and products to the U.S., he invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as his legal authority to do so.
Created by Congress in 1977, IEEPA gives a president the power to regulate certain economic transactions in response to declared emergencies, to impose tariffs on goods from various countries for national security and economic reasons.
Oregon v. Trump argues the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to set tariffs, not the president. Article I of the U.S. Constitution contains several key passages related to tariffs, including Section 8, Clause 3 — the Commerce Clause — that gives Congress broad power to regulate foreign commerce.
With lower federal courts siding on the argument that the tariff authority rests with Congress, the White House appealed. Now the issue now rests with the Supreme Court. The nine justices — three of whom were appointed by Trump — heard arguments on the case Nov. 5, when a majority of the court asked skeptical questions about Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose the tariffs, according to a report by the New York Times. The outcome could take weeks or months.
Known more formally as “amicus curiae,” a friend of the court brief is a legal argument that can be filed by individuals or other entities that are not a direct party to the case but have a strong interest in its outcome.
“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs were imposed without authority or accountability – and they are hurting New Hampshire,” said Goodlander, a lawyer with a background in constitutional law, having clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer from 2017 to 2018.
“The Constitution gives Congress the authority to impose tariffs, and I will never stop defending it, especially from a wannabe king whose reckless actions harm hardworking Granite Staters,” she added.
Pappas specifically addressed the president’s IEEPA argument.
“The President doesn’t even have the authority to impose these tariffs under IEEPA,” Pappas said. “I am disappointed that President Trump is continuing to press his case through an appeal to the Supreme Court, and I will continue to call on him to reverse his harmful tariff policy and accept the lower court rulings that have already struck down his illegal tariffs. It’s time for us to get to work on policies that will lower prices for families and small businesses, boost American manufacturing, and grow our economy.”
The amicus brief is the work of the House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force and was filed Oct. 27.
“President Trump’s abuse of emergency powers to levy tariffs on everyday goods is an unlawful overreach that hits American families in their wallets and undermines Congress’s constitutional authority,” said Shaheen, who, as Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is one of the leaders in the tariff filing.
Each member of the Granite State delegation has held sessions with individuals and businesses who say they’re being hurt economically by the tariffs.
Hassan, for example, has met with New Hampshire home builders who told her that the tariffs increase the price of metals, windows, flashing, and lumber, some of the essential ingredients in the construction of a house.
“I have heard from small businesses and families about the ways in which the President’s tariffs are straining budgets, causing chaos, and creating uncertainty – with a particularly devastating impact on New Hampshire given that our top trading partner is our neighbor to the north, Canada,” said Hassan. “I will continue to push back on the President’s tariffs, both through the courts and by urging my Republican colleagues to reverse course, so that we can get back to the important work of actually lowering costs for Granite Staters.”
The amicus brief cites the unprecedented nature of Trump’s use of tariffs.
“Presidents have used IEEPA to block financial transactions with hostile actors, freeze assets, and to impose targeted sanctions. V.O.S. Selections, 149 F.4th at 1335. Yet between 1977 and 2024, not once did a President use IEEPA to impose tariffs,” it said.
A majority of New Hampshire voters, in an August poll taken by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, blame tariffs as the source of what they see as higher prices.
“Most believe prices on everyday goods have increased over the past twelve months and two-thirds expect them to rise further in the coming twelve months,” said the poll’s conclusions.” A majority expect higher prices due to tariffs.”
In an earlier interview with NHBR, Brian Gottlob, director of the New Hampshire Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau, said tariffs make it hard for businesses to make short-term and long-term decisions about hiring, expansion, etc.
“From my perspective, there isn’t much good about tariffs at all,” Gottlob said in an interview.
“I think initially people thought: Oh, those things won’t last. I think they’re starting to realize it’s going to be in effect for as long as this administration is around. And, if that’s the case, you know, we’ve got a plan for that,” added Gottlob, who is also the principal of PolEcon Research, an economic research firm.
New Hampshire’s four Democratic members of Congress have signed on to an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that argues President Donald Trump exceeds his authority by unilaterally imposing tariffs.
Former state economic commissioner Taylor Caswell has joined Bernstein Shur as managing director of economic solutions, a new offering within the firm’s government and public affairs practice group, the law firm announced Monday.
New Hampshire’s high cost of living puts a disproportionate burden on women, particularly mothers, according to a new report published by the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation. The Status of Women in New Hampshire 2025 stresses gender inequities across the state
Officials say it's a win for the state, and for Hampton, as the state makes a push for proposals from developers/operators
Key federal funding for New Hampshire schools has not been affected by the shutdown in Washington, Department of Education Commissioner Caitlin Davis said Thursday, Oct. 9 — at least the money that flows through the state Department of Education.
New Hampshire voters aren’t feeling much relief from their anxieties about the state’s housing crisis. The continued reduced housing inventory, which pushes home prices higher, is also dampening labor market in the Granite State, according to a pair of studies.
New Hampshire’s attorney general says no improprieties by state officials preceded the sale of a large Nashua commercial building to China’s largest water bottler. But Attorney General John Formella’s report to Gov. Kelly Ayotte dated Oct. 3 says the provisions of federal law should have taken place prior to the sale of the 337,391-square-foot building at 80 Northwest Blvd. in Nashua by a subsidiary of Nongfu Spring.
Despite a shift in policy, New Hampshire officials expect 100% of the households and businesses in the state will have access to broadband internet by 2026.
The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is suing New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan, arguing he is illegally withholding the state’s voter file from federal officials.
