News/Commentary

Clinton-appointee orders Trump admin to start refunding $130B in tariffs

March 6, 2026 | | Print Article

Liberal activist judges continue to interfere with President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to “Make America Great Again,” exercising an assumed power that the Founding Fathers would have never dreamed of.

Judge Richard Eaton ordered the Trump administration to begin the arduous task of refunding billions of dollars to companies that paid tariffs, following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling.

The Clinton appointee “laid out the estimated $130 billion refund process in a three-page order, saying it would begin with U.S. Customs and Border Protection calculating what importers would have paid without the now-invalid tariffs,” Fox News reported.

Eaton also reminded all that he alone has jurisdiction over the refunds.

“The Chief Judge has indicated that I am the only judge who will hear cases pertaining to the refund of [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] duties,” Eaton said. “So there is no danger that another Judge, even one in this Court, will reach any contrary conclusions.”

More than 1,000 companies have sued for refunds in the U.S. Court of International Trade, according to Fox News.

While the Supreme Court ruling did not address the refund process, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, warned of “serious practical consequences” in his dissent.

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“The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others,” Kavanaugh wrote. “As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a ‘mess.’”

Eaton countered that warning in his decision, “There is nothing particularly novel about the provision of refunds. … I believe that there will be no chaos associated with the provision of these refunds and that it will not result in a mess.”

The Trump administration is expected to seek a stay to appeal Eaton’s order.

The whole sordid affair shoots a hole in the Democrats’ argument that the American people ultimately pay the price for tariffs, with social media users seeing it as just another bailout for big business — here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

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Tom Tillison
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