Costco Wholesale Corporation filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration seeking a full refund of tariffs the company has paid under an emergency powers law that multiple federal courts have confirmed the president doesn't understand and isn't allowed to use for tariffs.
The nation's largest warehouse club chain joins dozens of other adorably optimistic businesses challenging President Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act—a law designed for freezing terrorist assets that Trump apparently discovered on page 47 of a briefing book he definitely didn't read and decided sounded perfect for his vague economic agenda.
Federal courts, including the Federal Circuit, have repeatedly ruled the tariffs illegal, patiently explaining to the administration that "emergency powers" doesn't mean "whatever sounds cool." The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in November where justices expressed skepticism about whether Trump or anyone in his orbit actually knows what the IEEPA does, though the tariffs continue because stopping would require the president to admit he misunderstood something.
Costco's legal team noted the company risks losing millions in payments for what courts keep insisting are unlawful taxes—a predicament that perfectly encapsulates the Republican economic strategy of confidently implementing policies nobody in the room comprehends. The lawsuit emphasizes that Customs officials denied deadline extensions, apparently the only people in government still pretending there's a coherent plan.
The case highlights Trump's remarkable governance philosophy: find law with important-sounding name, assume it does what you want, ignore advisors explaining otherwise, lose in court repeatedly, continue anyway because reading the ruling would require reading.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration "looks forward" to the Supreme Court's resolution, a phrase suggesting someone may have finally told Trump that courts exist and do things.
