Shontel Brown

WASHINGTON -Ohio’s congressional delegation was sharply divided along party lines Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.

Democratic U.S. Congress members from Ohio applauded the 6-3 decision as a constitutional victory for working families while Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno denounced the ruling as “outrageous” and a betrayal of American workers.

The court’s majority found that Trump exceeded his authority by using a 1977 emergency powers law — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA — to unilaterally impose sweeping import taxes, including the “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every country in April 2025. Writing the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts, said the Constitution is clear: “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch.” Roberts was joined in the majority by Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, along with the court’s three liberal justices.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented. Kavanaugh argued the tariffs were lawful, in his written dissent, and also questioning whether the more than $133 billion the federal government collected under the tariffs would need to be refunded, warning the prospect will likely be a “mess.”

A November report from MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, found that some Northeast Ohio manufacturers were gaining new business under the tariffs, as customers source more domestically, while others lost sales, with average losses nearly twice as large as gains.

Moreno, a Westlake Republican, posted on social media that the “outrageous ruling handcuffs our fight against unfair trade that has devastated American workers for decades.

“These tariffs protected jobs, revived manufacturing, and forced cheaters like China to pay up,” Moreno continued. “Now globalists win, factories investments may reverse, and American workers lose again. This betrayal must be reversed and Republicans must get to work immediately on a reconciliation bill to codify the tariffs that had made our country the hottest country on earth!”

A statement from U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, a Columbus-area Republican, described tariffs as an important tool for protecting American workers and confronting unfair trade practices.

“Today, the Supreme Court has spoken,” said a social media statement from Husted. “In America, we respect the rule of law even when we disagree with it. I look forward to working with the President, his administration, and my colleagues in the Senate to continue supporting America-First trade policies, prioritizing American consumers and job creators, and pushing back on adversaries like China.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, a Dayton Republican, cheered the decision, saying on social media that it reinforced the Constitutional separation of powers.

“Congress—not the President alone—holds the power to regulate international trade, including by imposing tariffs," Turner wrote, adding that they can be an important tool to protect American workers and our industrial base, and for legitimate foreign policy goals

“After today’s Supreme Court ruling, there will be efforts to grant the President broader tariff authority,” he predicted. “I do not support Congress further granting any President express, broad, and unrestrained tariff authority.”

Rep. Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose district covers much of Cuyahoga County, called the ruling a victory for consumers.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a win for everyone struggling with higher prices and a loss for Trump and his crackpot theories,” said a statement from Brown.

Brown argued the tariffs “disrupted small businesses, strained supply chains, and drove up costs for working families by thousands of dollars” and “dealt a real blow to our farmers, who saw their markets shrink and uncertainty grow.”

She added: “No president should be able to make sweeping economic decisions like this in defiance of the Constitution and the law. That’s Congress’s job — and the Court made that clear.”

Rep. Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat who chairs the Tariffs, Trade and Strategic Competition Working Group in the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said the ruling restores a proper balance of power.

“This decision is a big win for Ohio families and for the Constitution,” said a statement from Sykes. “No more trade wars through executive shortcuts. We will work across the aisle to lower costs, strengthen supply chains, and protect the jobs that power Northeast Ohio. Congress, not any one president, sets trade policy.”

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who represents a swath of northwestern Ohio, said that region of the state was among the hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs.