Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday demanding the administration refund businesses that paid tariffs to import goods into the United States under authority the Supreme Court has ruled the president never held.

“The American people — small business owners, importers, manufacturers, and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes — deserve better than this stonewalling,” the group wrote. “This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.”

The Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 20 that President Donald Trump wrongly instituted tariffs under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, writing “that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”...

Mark Kelly brief argues Pentagon seeks unconstitutional power to silence retired veterans

by Jennifer Shutt, Arizona Mirror
January 26, 2026

WASHINGTON — Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s lawyers on Monday urged a federal judge to block the Defense Department from downgrading his retirement rank as a Navy captain and his pay for telling U.S. troops they aren’t required to follow illegal orders....

Trump threatens tariffs on Greenland, countries that oppose US takeover

by Jennifer Shutt, Daily Montanan
January 16, 2026

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened Friday to place tariffs on Greenland and any country that opposes his efforts to take over the Arctic island, as members of Congress from both political parties were in Europe to assure allied nations that lawmakers won’t go along with his plans....

WASHINGTON — Some members of Congress are asking for their salaries to be withheld during the government shutdown, while federal workers on Friday missed their first full paycheck since many operations closed on Oct. 1.

With no movement toward a deal to end the shutdown, the House remained on a prolonged break from Capitol Hill, the Senate left for its usual long weekend and President Donald Trump prepared to depart for a trip to China, where he will likely focus much more on foreign policy and tariffs than the funding lapse.

The president, lawmakers and federal judges all receive their regular paychecks during government shutdowns, unlike the 2 million civilian federal employees and thousands of staffers who work in the legislative branch. Members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year and leaders are paid more....

The Interior Department announced Monday it will pause efforts to lay off 2,050 employees throughout the country after a federal judge expanded a temporary restraining order late last week.

The new filing provides more information about how the Trump administration plans to reduce the size and scope of a department that oversees much of the country’s public lands.

Rachel Borra, chief human capital officer at Interior, wrote in a 35-page document the layoffs would affect employees at the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey, among others. ...