Newsom Taunts Trump’s Doj Over Tariff Lawsuit Request

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to pounce on news that the Trump administration is trying to move California’s lawsuit over the president’s tariffs to an out-of-state court.

“You scared?” Newsom posted on social media in response to a news report about the administration’s request.

Justice Department attorneys argued in a court filing Thursday that the case should be heard in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, rather than the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where Newsom and Attorney Rob Bonta filed the suit on Wednesday. Judge Scott Corley scheduled a May 22 hearing on the request.

California this week became the first state to sue President Donald Trump over his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, claiming the president has no authority to unilaterally tax imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

In the filing, the Trump administration contended that the lawsuit “falls squarely within the exclusive subject matter jurisdiction of the Court of International Trade” because it focuses on tariff policy, arguing that the Northern District lacks jurisdiction and should “promptly transfer” the case.

The Court of International Trade deals exclusively with trade issues and has jurisdiction throughout the country. The court “has entertained thousands of challenges to various Presidential actions imposing tariffs,” the administration argued in the filing, adding that “this complaint should be treated no differently.”

Representatives for Bonta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The trade court is hearing two other challenges to Trump’s tariffs, including a case filed by a conservative legal group. Trump officials are also seeking to move a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit legal group in northern Florida over the tariffs to that court, using similar reasoning.

Any potential appeals would still eventually reach the Supreme Court.