Yesterday, a federal judge ruled against President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, stating that he didn’t have the authority to impose them without approval from Congress. Trump’s tariffs had placed a 10% tax on all imported goods and even higher “reciprocal” tariffs for dozens of other countries. They’ve caused economic chaos since they were announced, including drops in the stock market, higher prices for everyday goods, and huge challenges for American small businesses.
Yesterday’s ruling came from U.S District Judge Rudolph Contreras, who was appointed by former President Obama. But just the day before, this past Wednesday, another federal court made basically the same ruling — and two of those judges were appointed by former President Reagan and President Trump himself. (Awkward!)
Of course the administration is appealing both decisions, but these rulings are great news. The tariffs are bad for American families and should be overturned, but this story goes deeper than that. We’ve all been desperate for some sign that our democracy might right itself, some hope that our systems are resilient enough to withstand authoritarianism. And these rulings show that our federal judges, even ones appointed by Republicans, still care about the rule of law.
We also owe a huge thank you to the small businesses who led the lawsuit, including a family-run wine company who said the tariffs "threaten to unravel everything we’ve spent a generation building.”
Meanwhile, speaking of protecting our democracy, a TroubleNation group in California has been educating their neighbors about Project 2025. A lot of the attacks we’ve been seeing have been straight out of the Project 2025 playbook, so this is important work! The group’s name is Hope and Cookies — and honestly, we could all use a little more of both these days.
Things are still dark, but we’re seeing glimmers of hope on both the federal and the local level. If you want to be part of it, you can find a TroubleNation group in your area or start your own. Red Wine & Blue is here to help you every step of the way.
Use this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to your own reps, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk