Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a letter Feb. 21 to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking for a detailed timeline of the procedure for Treasury refunds to U.S. businesses which have actually been paying all that tariff money President Trump seems to believe has “poured in from countries around the world.” The tariffs found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court Feb. 20 reportedly accounted for at least $134 billion of the $264 billion in U.S. tariff taxation in 2025, and an additional amount in January and February of 2026.
The haughty Secretary “Unplessent” Bessent is not likely to give Cantwell a serious answer; in an interview with CNN Feb. 20, the Treasury chief repeatedly interrupted the refund question from Dana Bash: “No, no, no, no, Dana, it’s not a big question”; etc. But he will have to respond to the U.S. Court of International Trade (USITC), where scores of importing companies are already lining up to demand the illegal taxes back. That court of first instance was little noticed when in April it took the case of five small importers, which it decided on May 28, unanimously, against the Administration. The Supreme Court, in its 6-3 Feb. 19 decision, remanded the refund question back to the USITC to decide.