Governors Invoice Trump $8.6B, Wonder If White House Accepts IOUs

KEY POINTS

•Following a Supreme Court ruling on February 2026 invalidating tariffs under a national security act, governors Newsom and Pritzker demanded refunds.
•Pritzker sent an $8.6 billion 'PAST DUE - DELINQUENT' invoice to Trump for Illinois families, citing a $1,700 average tariff cost per family.
•The White House dismissed the refund demands as political stunts and expressed skepticism that tariff refunds would ever be issued.

In the greatest episode of political bartering since 'Who Wants to Be a Refund?', California's Gavin Newsom and Illinois' JB Pritzker demanded Trump pay Americans back $1,700 each for tariffs deemed illegal by the Supreme Court in early February 2026. Pritzker went full invoice-mode, billing Illinois families $8.6 billion with a big 'PAST DUE - DELINQUENT' stamp—because nothing motivates like bureaucratic bill collectors. The tariffs, slapped on under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, cost consumers about $231 billion, apparently directly financed by Trump's 'vanity play.' Trump hinted the refund saga could last two years, while Treasury's Scott Bessent doubts anyone will ever see a dime. Meanwhile, the White House silently counsels Pritzker to maybe fix Illinois first, a helpful note that surely calms everyone down.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Years of tariffs slammed on Americans, then states send bills demanding refunds. White House suggests maybe fix your own mess first. Politics or slapstick finance? We’re all stuck in traffic on Refund Road.

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