Judge dismisses Gov. Gavin Newsom's lawsuit challenging Trump tariffs -- for now

Lia Russell, The Sacramento Bee on Jun 3, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge dismissed California’s lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s tariffs, temporarily stymieing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s biggest political tactic against Trump’s White House.

U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled on Monday that Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta did not have jurisdiction to sue Trump in the Northern District of California. In doing so, she partially sided with the U.S. Department of Justice’s assertion that the case belonged in the New York-based Court of International Trade.

Bonta filed a motion immediately after Scott Corley’s decision, appealing to the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

He and Newsom announced last month that they were challenging Trump’s ability to levy taxes on foreign imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, arguing that the president did not have the authority to do so.

Newsom has made the tariffs central to his attacks on Trump since he resumed criticizing the president in recent weeks, arguing the uncertainty has harmed small businesses and blown a $16 billion hole in California’s budget.

“It was dismissed on procedural grounds,” Newsom’s office said in response to Scott Corley’s ruling. “We disagree — as did a federal court in D.C. — and have already appealed.”

Last week, the Court of International Trade struck down Trump’s tariffs, but another federal court temporarily reinstated them while litigation plays out.

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