President Donald Trump’s sprawling tariff regime is heading toward its most serious political threat yet. Following their landslide victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections, Democrats are preparing legislation, investigations, and other congressional pressure against the Republican president’s signature economic policy.
The party plans a legislative blitz during the first 100 hours after the next Congress is sworn in. Those bills are expected to target major parts of Trump’s agenda, with his expansive use of tariffs emerging as an immediate priority.
Abdul El-Sayed, elected to the Senate from Michigan, told MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” that ending the tariff regime, particularly the trade war with Canada, is something Democrats “absolutely have to do immediately.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic minority leader who could become House speaker, has also placed tariffs near the top of the party’s agenda. If selected as speaker, he would move legislation intended to restore congressional control over trade policy.
“We should restore congressional authority as it relates to tariffs, because the Trump tariffs are making life more expensive for the American people,” Jeffries said during an August press conference.
Democrats are simultaneously preparing investigations into the administration’s handling of tariff exemptions. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the leading Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked Trump on Oct. 28 to provide records connected to those exemptions.
Raskin alleges that Trump used exemption authority to provide “sweetheart deals” to industries whose leaders gave him gifts. Democrats incorporated allegations about Trumpworld corruption and higher costs into their successful midterm campaign message.
The administration is already fighting several lawsuits over different parts of its tariff program. The latest case, filed Oct. 20, challenges Trump’s use of a Great Depression era law to impose 50% tariffs on numerous Canadian products.
Another lawsuit accuses Trump of trying to reconstruct the near global “liberation day” tariffs struck down as illegal by the Supreme Court in late February. The administration was subsequently ordered to refund $166 billion collected under that discarded policy.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to levy taxes, although lawmakers have transferred some trade powers to the executive branch over several decades. Democrats now intend to reclaim authority they say Trump has exercised with virtually no checks.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is positioned to lead the Senate Finance Committee under Democratic control, identified Canada as an obvious priority. The Wall Street Journal, citing Wyden, reported that Democrats view the Canada trade war as their “first target.”
Yet the Senate presents a formidable obstacle. Democrats will not hold the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, leaving diminished Republicans with the ability to block legislation aimed at dismantling Trump’s tariff policies.
Trump’s veto power creates another barrier. Overriding a presidential veto requires two thirds majorities in both chambers, meaning Democrats would need substantial Republican support despite their historic electoral gains.
Democrats could still pass tariff legislation and force Trump to veto it, potentially helping the party shape its argument heading into the 2028 election cycle. They could also attach tariff provisions to essential legislation or attempt to negotiate directly with the administration.
“Absent the brute force of a veto-proof coalition, Congress might consider other political solutions, such as adding riders on ‘must-pass’ bills or negotiation with the administration,” Kit Johnson, a senior tax manager for BDO’s customs and international trade group, told CNBC.
Trump has indicated that tariffs are not open to negotiation. “If I took tariffs off — we have 3,000 plants under construction right now. Every single plant would stop building,” he told CNBC’s Eamon Javers after Tuesday’s election.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has increased tariffs on nearly every country, producing extended trade wars that most notably involve Canada and China. The nonprofit Tax Foundation estimates those duties increased the average American household’s tax burden by $820 in 2026.
Trump also claimed tariffs could finance $5,000 dividend checks for every American adult if Republicans retained both chambers. That proposal would cost about $1.2 trillion, while tariffs collected from American importers generated around $300 billion between January 2025 and July 2026, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
About $138 billion has been refunded since the Supreme Court ruling, while nearly $20 billion more remains scheduled for repayment. In the CNBC Voter Poll conducted Nov. 3, 65% said tariffs harmed the economy, compared with 22% who said they helped.
Some Republican lawmakers opposed the duties during the campaign as Democrats blamed tariffs and the Iran war for inflation. Their willingness to support Trump’s protectionist policies will help determine how much of the Democratic offensive can move beyond hearings and vetoed legislation.