Democrats won Congress. Can they actually stop Trump’s tariffs?

On the heels of their resounding victories in the midterms , Democrats are preparing to take President Trump’s tariffs head-on as part of their pledge to lower the cost of living.

The tariffs , a central part of Trump’s economic agenda dating to his first term, were a frequent target for Democratic lawmakers and candidates on the trail.

After Democrats clinched majorities in both chambers of Congress, party leaders have already vowed to try and stop them through legislation.

“We need to stop the Trump tariffs that have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) told reporters on Wednesday.

How Democrats can do this once they assume the majority in both chambers could take different forms, Erica York, a senior economist at the Tax Foundation, told The Hill.

“It could be really narrow and just say, ‘These particular tariffs that the president has imposed, we want to … overrule those or … remove those from the books,’” she said of potential legislation.

She added, “It could be more expansive and say, ‘This authority in general shouldn’t sit with the president, and so we want to bring that back to Congress and not let any president do any tariff under this type of authority.’”

Arun Venkataraman, an international trade lawyer with Covington & Burling LLP who previously served in senior roles at the Commerce Department, said he sees Democrats getting more support “for specific tariff actions than they are to do a broadside against underlying” authorities.

“I don’t think we’re going to see them out of the gate on day one completely try to revise all of the U.S. trade laws,” he said. “I think that perhaps the more focused and strategic approach is to address particular tariffs, and then be able to get Republican support for some of that.”

Trump, however, still holds the veto power , a fact that he has repeated since Tuesday’s blue wave .

“I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto.’” Trump told CBS News earlier this week.

The president even posted a photo of a red, MAGA-style hat with “VETO” written in big, white letters on Truth Social. The hat was also on the resolute desk on Thursday.

Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds majority, but it would require support from Democrats and Republicans. Multiple GOP critics of the tariffs, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), are also on their way out.

“They’re going to have to build a coalition that breaks that two-third veto, and that’s my concern,” said Kyle Sweetser, who owns a construction company in Alabama and has vocally opposed Trump’s tariffs.

“I think right now, if we zero in on tariffs … we can get a two-thirds vote on a solution here,” added Sweetser, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Senate nomination in Alabama this cycle.

But Pierre Yared, who previously served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the second Trump administration, wrote that change in congressional control is unlikely to be enough on its own to change tariff policy.

“I expect the tariff policy to continue to remain largely under the president’s control, though the future direction of tariffs is subject to legal challenges as well as negotiations with trading partners,” wrote Yared , now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Venkataraman said that “there have been a lot of people that have maybe been a little bit quick to dismiss the notion of a veto-proof majority.”

“Given the numbers that we saw with the elections this week, it is not completely implausible, and, to my mind, it is well worth the effort because there are Republican members that share these concerns and who heard directly from constituents,” he said.

Trump has imposed tariffs under multiple sections of federal law, including Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.

The Supreme Court in February struck down the levies the president imposed last year under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Section 232 and Section 338 allow the president to tax imports under national security concerns or after determining certain countries have discriminatory trade practices, respectively. Trump has cited the former statute in taxing steel, copper and aluminum imports, and slapped 50 percent levies on a slew of Canadian goods under the latter.

But the Constitution gives taxation power to Congress, and many Democrats now want to claw that back with their new majorities .

“Congress reclaiming its authority over tariffs and taking away those tariff rates,” is a major priority, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) told The Bulwark before the election.

Boyle, who cruised to reelection and is in line to chair the House Budget Committee, added that Congress overturning Trump’s tariffs would equate to a “de facto tax cut” for Americans.

The data backs that up. As of August, Trump’s tariffs had added an average of $820 to U.S. households’ costs, according to the Tax Foundation .

York noted that is lower than what the organization estimated for 2025, as Trump’s IEEPA tariffs took effect in April of that year.

Obstacles remain in the way of Democrats’ eventual push to reel in the tariffs, however. York cited differing views between the free trade and protectionist wings of the party, arguing it could result in “tension” between lawmakers come January.

But even if Democrats coalesce and pass legislation, Trump will likely not accept limitations on his authority, rendering such a bill dead on arrival without a veto-proof majority.

“This is a big thing for him. He’s been supportive of tariffs for 30, 40 years,” Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas-based Republican strategist, told The Hill this week.

Administration officials are also doubling down on the levies, even in the wake of the election. After the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, the White House argued in a release Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts are “bringing factories home.”

“Putting a stop to American workers, farmers, and businesses being ripped off by lopsided trade agreements has been a key foundation of President Trump’s Make America Great Again movement since he first came down the escalator,” White House spokesman Matthew Middleton said in a statement.

“This administration has already secured almost 20 fair trade deals and trillions in manufacturing investments, and will continue to push for deals that deliver even more job growth, wage increases, and opportunities for hardworking Americans,” he added.