Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes argues tariffs case at SCOTUS

PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield made oral arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday for the multistate lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade in April and argues that Trump can’t legally enact tariffs by executive order without congressional action.

Mayes and Rayfield are co-leaders of the lawsuit, which includes 10 other state attorneys general. The other states listed as plaintiffs are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.

“This case is so important, maybe the most important case that this court has heard in 100 years, especially to our economy and to consumers and businesses large and small,” Mayes told the media outside the Supreme Court building after arguments concluded.

Kris Mayes felt ‘good’ after oral arguments to SCOTUS on tariffs lawsuit

According to Mayes, the attorneys general not only felt good about the arguments they made, but the questions they were asked by the justices.

“There were multiple judges who raised the major questions doctrine issue,” Mayes said. “This is a court that has favored the idea that when an agency does something that is extraordinary and major, it cannot do so without going to Congress first.”

The Arizona attorney general added that a couple of justices compared the Trump’s “tariff scheme” to the major questions doctrine.

“I thought that was a really good sign,” Mayes said. “Again we’re not going to predict anything, but I thought it was a good sign for the plaintiffs, for us.”

Mayes emphasized that if the attorneys general don’t win this case then prices will continue to go up.

“Americans are now dealing with an average 17.5% national sales tax because of these tariffs,” Mayes said. “The people of this country are hurting. They are now laboring under the triple whammy of ACA price increases, SNAP benefits not coming through in Thanksgiving and tariffs that are driving up inflation, we need to win this case and we’re really hoping that we do.”

The attorney general added that small businesses will continue to go out of business if the tariffs stay in place.

“We have small businesses in Arizona that are going out of business every day,” Mayes said. “I’ve talked to a furniture manufacturer, a restauranteur, a hotel owner, cattle ranchers along the southern border of Arizona. All of whom are struggling because of these tariffs. … So, the stakes of this particular argument could not possibly be higher for our country and for our economy.”

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