Supreme Court cans Trump's dumb tariffs. Where's my refund? | Opinion

Despite “tariffs” being President Donald Trump’s favorite word in the dictionary, the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 yoinked his ability to use tariffs willy-nilly, prompting me to ask one serious question: When will I get my money back?

A New York Federal Reserve analysis recently found that in 2025, “nearly 90 percent of the tariffs’ economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers.”

I certainly feel bad the nation's highest court took away Trump’s favorite geopolitical play toy, reminding him and all Americans that the Constitution is still a thing, but I’m far more interested in receiving what I assume will be a handsome refund.

Gimme my money, Trump.

Consumers should expect tariff refunds, right? RIGHT?!?!

I’m sure Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s response to the Supreme Court ruling charts out a simple path for us all to get our cash back: “No Supreme Court decision can undo the massive damage that the Trump tariffs have done to small businesses, to American supply chains, and especially to American families forced to pay higher prices on everything from groceries to housing. The Court has struck down these destructive tariffs, but there is no legal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid.”

Excuse me, what was that last bit? No legal mechanism to get my money back? Are you freakin’ kidding me?

Trump's tariffs unleashed chaos, and now we'll walk away with less

We’ve had to watch global trade get massively bungled and deal with higher prices, all while watching Trump act like tariffs are some magic wand he wields whenever he wants to get his way.

And now the Supreme Court finally does something to block the president’s I’m-a-king attitude and our reward is to suck up the money this fiasco cost us while he spends millions on a stupid ballroom and randomly promises $10 billion in taxpayer money to his embarrassing United Nations knockoff, the “Board of Peace”?

Pitchfork sales are fixing to spike.

Supreme Court ruling on tariffs shows how stupid this all was

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, which logically said the president needs “clear congressional authorization” to impose tariffs, The New York Times reported:

“Many U.S. importers have kept meticulous records in anticipation of submitting those requests if a court ruling allowed them to pursue tariff refunds. The consulting firm Capital Economics estimates that those refund requests could total as much as $120 billion. So, will consumers see any of that money, given that they ultimately paid a significant portion of it? Probably not. Companies are not likely to issue refunds, or lower prices.”

Oh, this is all just lovely. Our imperial president runs roughshod over Congress and starts slinging random tariffs at any country that refuses to say how handsome he is or give him a shiny award. Our prices go up and we consumers eat the tariff costs, most of us knowing full well what he’s doing is both reckless and unconstitutional.

And now the supposed adults in the room come along, tell Trump to put down his tariff pen and sit in a corner, and we get nothing for our trouble?

Trump owes you about $1,000 for his unconstitutional tariffs. Bill him.

A recent report by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that Trump’s tariffs amounted to “an average tax increase per US household of $1,000 in 2025,” noting: “The Trump tariffs are the largest US tax increase as a percent of GDP (0.54 percent for 2026) since 1993.”

I WANT MY $1,000 BACK!!

Trump and his family are getting richer by the minute under this administration. In September, Forbes reported that Trump’s net worth had soared to $7.3 billion: “Trump added $3 billion over the last year, leveraging the presidency for profit.”

Our net worth, thanks to President Tariff-Man, dropped at least $1,000. Not cool.

I encourage everyone to immediately email an invoice to the White House. Here’s something you can cut and paste:

INVOICE

Description: Tariff Refund

Quantity: 1

Amount: $1,000

Note: Gimme my damn money back.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk