California Governor announces lawsuit against Trump over tariffs

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, the largest manufacturing state in the country and one of the largest trading partners in the world, announced Wednesday a lawsuit on behalf of the state against President Trump to pause imposed trade tariffs over its potential effects. 

"Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose the largest tax hike of our lifetime with his destructive tariffs," Newsom said in a post on X. 

The California governor added that no state will be more impacted than California in terms of the "unilateral authority that's been asserted by the Trump administration to impose the largest tax increase in modern American history."

Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The lawsuit asks a judge to pause Trump's tariffs immediately, claiming they are “unlawful and void” under the U.S. Constitution. 

“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy — driving up prices and threatening jobs,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”

“The President’s chaotic and haphazard implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troubling, it’s illegal,” Bonta said in a statement. “As the fifth largest economy in the world, California understands global trade policy is not just a game.”

The lawsuit is California’s first legal challenge to the president’s agenda since Trump’s second White House term began in January, in the midst of what Newsom called "toxic uncertainty" for the state's people. 

Newsom also listed various export-dependent products, including pistachios and almonds. Most of the state's production comes from the Central Valley, which Newsom said Trump had betrayed. 

"Donald Trump has turned his back on his supporters," Newsom said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "We will not turn our backs on those who supported Trump."

See the statement from Governor Newsom below:

Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose the largest tax hike of our lifetime with his destructive tariffs.

We’re taking him to court. pic.twitter.com/LAm1NRx300

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 16, 2025

Photo: Flickr