The congressional elections have concluded, and the strife surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies is about to intensify.
The complex tariff network woven by Trump over the past two years may soon face its greatest threat to date. The Democrats are preparing to use their newly acquired legislative power to challenge this Republican president's signature policy.
The Democratic Party does not shy away from stating that they plan to launch a series of investigations against Trump and his allies immediately after taking office in the next Congress. At the same time, they are also preparing a "first 100 hours" legislative offensive, proposing a range of bills in an attempt to reverse most of the contents of Trump's agenda.
Both of these offensive strategies will target Trump's unprecedented use of tariffs. After the Democratic Party's decisive victory in the midterms on Tuesday, they quickly identified this as their primary target for attack.
Elected Senator and Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed ( Abdul El - Sayed ) stated on Thursday in the MS NOW 's Morning Joe program that ending Trump's tariff regime, especially his trade war with Canada, is "an absolutely necessary thing for the Democrats to do immediately."
Hakim Jeffries ( Hakeem Jeffries ), a Democratic representative from New York State who is expected to be elected as the Speaker of the House in the next Congress and currently serves as the leader of the minority party in the House, has also made it clear that ending Trump's tariffs is a priority.
At a press conference in late August, he said, "We should restore Congress's authority on tariff issues, because Trump's tariffs are making the cost of living for American people higher."
If Jeffries is elected Speaker, he will push for the relevant legislation to be swiftly submitted to the House of Representatives for a vote in order to reaffirm Congress's authority over trade affairs.
The Democratic Party is also paving the way for investigations into Trump's tariffs. The party has linked high prices to the corruption within what it calls Trump's circle, using this as one of its campaign messages to win support.
Jamie Raskin, a Congressman from Maryland and a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee ( Jamie Raskin ), requested on October 28 that Trump hand over records related to tariff exemptions. Raskin alleged that Trump used the exemption powers to provide "special deals" to certain industries, and that the leaders of these industries had given gifts to the President.
These plans are likely to further increase the legal and political pressure that Trump's tariff policy is already facing.
The Trump administration has been involved in several lawsuits that challenge different aspects of its tariff policies.
The latest lawsuit was filed on October 20th, targeting Trump's use of a law from the Great Depression era to impose a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods.
In another case, Trump is accused of attempting to reinstate the "Liberation Day" tariffs that covered almost the entire globe, which were deemed illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court in late February. Subsequently, the government was ordered to return $166 billion in tariff revenues collected under the abolished policy.
According to the U.S. Constitution, the power to levy taxes belongs to Congress, not the President. Over the decades, the legislative branch has ceded some of this power to the executive branch. However, Trump claims to have almost unlimited authority over tariffs – the Democrats state that they intend to reclaim this power.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is set to succeed the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said: "Trump insists on imposing indiscriminate taxes on so many products that Americans need every day, which will only put those Republicans who indulge his tariff frenzy in even deeper trouble."
On the eve of the election, Wyden stated to CNBC, "If the Democrats truly have a majority sufficient to override a veto, or if voters make Republicans realize what is the right thing to do, then there are countless trade policies that could be implemented."
"One of the most obvious priorities is to repeal Trump's tariffs on Canada, which are driving up prices and harming communities on both sides of the border," he said. "I will also continue to work to ensure that Congress has the final say on tariffs, so that no future president can repeat Trump's economically disastrous trade policies."
The Wall Street Journal, citing Wyden's remarks, reported that the Democratic Party is viewing the trade war with Canada as its "primary target" in response to Trump's tariff agenda.
Tariff barriers
As implied in Wyden's statement, Senate rules will hinder the progress of Democratic efforts against tariffs.
Despite the Democratic Party's overwhelming victory on Tuesday evening, they still fell short of the 60-vote threshold required to block legislative proceedings in the Senate. This gives the Republican Party a key tool to prevent legislation from advancing, even though they have lost some seats.
It is also very likely that Trump will frequently use his veto power in the next Congress, which will become a major obstacle to the Democratic legislative agenda.
To override a presidential veto, both the House of Representatives and the Senate need a two-thirds majority; this means that even if the Democrats achieve historic electoral results, they still need the support of a large number of Republicans in order to pass the bill into law despite Trump's opposition.
The Democrats may believe that even if the bill is ultimately vetoed by Trump, the effort to pass the legislation is worthwhile, as it will help them build a political narrative for the 2028 electoral cycle. However, they may also have other options available to them.
BDO Keith Johnson, a Senior Tax Manager in Customs and International Trade, stated in an email to CNBC: "If there is no strong alliance sufficient to overturn the veto, Congress could consider other political solutions, such as adding attached clauses to bills that must be passed, or negotiating with the government."
How Trump might respond
Trump stated that he plans to use his veto power to force Democrats back to the negotiating table. However, when it comes to tariffs, it's hard to imagine what kind of deal Trump would be willing to accept.
Trump has been attempting to reshape America's trade, foreign policy, and economic policies around his claimed authority to impose high import tariffs. He describes tariffs as a win-win situation, stating that they are both a powerful negotiating tool and an important source of fiscal revenue.
After the elections on Tuesday, Trump seemed to imply that there was no room for negotiation on tariffs.
When he spoke on the phone with Eamon Jarvis ( Eamon Javers ) of CNBC on Wednesday, he said, 'If I cancel the tariffs – we currently have 3,000 factories under construction. Each of those factories will stop construction.'
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has raised tariffs on nearly all countries around the world, triggering several protracted trade wars, with the most prominent conflicts being with Canada and China. He insists that Americans will not bear the burden of these tariffs, despite the fact that tariffs are by definition taxes imposed on imported goods and paid by importers. The non-profit Tax Foundation estimates that Trump's tariffs increased the tax burden for an average American family by $820 in 2026.
Trump has also been exaggerating the revenue the government has obtained through tariffs. On the eve of the election, he claimed that if the Republicans won both houses of Congress, tariffs would enable him to distribute a $5,000 “dividend” check to every adult American—a plan that would cost about $1.2 trillion. However, the Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania shows that these tariffs, paid by American importers, only generated a total of about $300 billion in revenue between January 2025 and July 2026.
In addition, approximately $13.8 billion of this amount has been refunded following the Supreme Court ruling in February. Nearly another $20 billion in tariff revenues will also be refunded.
The majority of voters do not agree with Trump's optimistic views on tariffs. According to a poll of voters conducted on November 3rd, CNBC, 65% of respondents believed that these tariffs have harmed the American economy, while only 22% thought they were beneficial.
What remains to be seen is how forcefully the Republicans will resist the Democratic efforts in Congress.
During the election campaign, many Republican lawmakers publicly opposed these tariffs, as their opponents blamed the rising inflation on Trump's tariffs and the Iran war, and thus made progress in their campaigns.
As they attempt to regroup and look ahead to the 2028 electoral cycle, some Republicans—who generally supported free trade before Trump's rise—may no longer be willing to continue aligning themselves with Trump's radical protectionism.
