Michigan Residents Say Trump's Tariffs and Congressional Republicans' Refusal to Rein Him In Have Made Life Unaffordable

Today, the Supreme Court struck down most of the Trump administration’s disastrous tariffs, and Michigan residents are speaking out about how Republicans like Congressmen John James and Tom Barrett, enabled Trump, as recently as last week, to unilaterally impose tariffs that have driven up costs on nearly everything. Lower courts have already ruled that Trump exceeded his authority when he invoked emergency powers to impose the tariffs starting in April 2025, and some Republicans in Congress have since voted to strike down his tariffs on Canada, except for James and Barrett, despite the burden it put on Michigan.

"The Supreme Court has finally said what lower courts already decided—these tariffs overstepped and everyone is paying the price." said Alex, MI-10 resident and owner of Blackout Painting. "But here's the real problem: Republicans in Congress, including John James, didn't lift a finger to stop it. They handed Trump unchecked power to impose tariffs, and now small businesses like mine are paying the price. My costs have gone up. I've had to make hard choices between raising prices or accepting lower profits. And it's not just businesses—working families in Macomb County are paying more for almost everything because Congress refused to do its job and set limits on presidential power. We need John James to take action before it is too late."

"Every time I go to the grocery store, I'm reminded that we're paying the price for Congress giving Trump a blank check," said Ashley, MI-07 resident. "Republicans like Tom Barrett talk about supporting families, but they've supported Trump imposed tariffs that courts have tried to repeal which are putting a burden on families. We're the ones paying hundreds of dollars more every month—not Trump, not his wealthy friends who got massive tax cuts, but regular people in Lansing. Meanwhile, Tom Barrett has done nothing and while he has been in Congress for a year and he's already shown he'll do whatever he wants, no matter who it hurts. He can change that by taking action to repeal these tariffs, but he won’t."

Michigan Families for Fair Care recently launched a seven-figure ad campaign highlighting local residents and small business owners and the impact tariffs have had on Michigan. You can watch the ads here.