House Republicans' tariff push raises separation-of-powers concerns among Democrats and legal scholars

Chairman Jason Smith convened the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing to solicit trade priorities, but much of the afternoon centered on President Trump’s announced tariff actions—dubbed by critics as “Liberation Day”—and whether the executive branch may impose sweeping tariffs without congressional approval.

The hearing took up a constitutional question that multiple lawmakers and witnesses said merits urgent attention: what limits, if any, the Constitution places on presidential authority to raise tariffs and to enter trade agreements absent a congressional role. Professor Kathleen Clawson, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, told the subcommittee that Congress has an essential constitutional role in regulating commerce with foreign nations and warned that many recent “trade executive…