Hickenlooper, Bennet, Colleagues Demand Tariff Refunds for Working Families and Small Businesses

The Trump administration has collected an estimated $175 billion in illegal tariff revenue
WASHINGTON –
Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, along with 23 of their Senate colleagues, demanded that the Trump administration immediately begin to process refunds for tariffs and customs duties following the Supreme Court declaring Trump’s tariffs illegal.
“The American people — small business owners, importers, manufacturers, and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes — deserve better than this stonewalling,”
the senators wrote.
“This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.”
The Trump administration has
collected
an estimated $175 billion in illegal tariff revenue, raising taxes on products from nearly every foreign country and jacking up prices for working families. In total, Coloradans paid a staggering
$760 million in tariffs
before the Supreme Court ruling.
The Trump administration
previously recognized
that it must refund, with interest, any money unlawfully collected. However, it is unclear what timeline, process, or other guidelines the Trump administration would follow to provide refunds.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling was not, as [Secretary Bessent] characterized it, “a loss for the American people.” It was a reaffirmation that no president is above the law,”
the senators concluded.
Hickenlooper is an outspoken opponent of Trump’s reckless tariff regime. He recently introduced the
Tariff Refund Act of 2026
, which would fully refund businesses who paid the administration’s illegal tariffs. Earlier last year he introduced a similar bill, the
Small Business RELIEF Act
, which would have exempted small businesses from the admin’s sweeping tariffs and provided refunds for the tariffs they already paid.
Hickenlooper also
signed onto an amicus brief
challenging the Trump administration’s illegal tariffs that was ultimately considered by the Supreme Court. In October, he helped
pass a bipartisan Senate resolution
to end President Trump’s reckless 50% tariffs on Brazil.
Over the summer, Hickenlooper
chaired
a field hearing of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Denver to highlight the strain the outdoor recreation industry is facing under the Trump administration’s chaotic tariffs.
Full text of the letter is available
HERE
and below:
Dear Secretary Bessent:
Your comments following the Supreme Court’s decision to correctly invalidate this administration’s illegal tariff regime are completely unacceptable, as is the administration’s apparent decision to deny automatic refunds of these illegally collected tariffs.
On Friday, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, you said “the American people won’t see” the billions of dollars in tariff revenue unlawfully collected from them. Then, on Sunday, you doubled down, dismissing questions about refunds as “bad framing,” repeatedly insisting the matter is “up to the lower court” rather than the administration, and refusing to answer whether small business owners who bore the cost of these illegal tariffs would ever get their money back.
These statements stand in direct contradiction to your own prior commitments and are a slap in the face to American businesses and families who you illegally taxed by well over $130 billion. In January, you said that issuing tariff refunds “won’t be a problem” for the Treasury, and that “if the court says it, we’d have to do it.” The Court has said it. In a 6-3 ruling, it found that the president exceeded his legal authority. You need to give the people their money back.
The American people — small business owners, importers, manufacturers, and the consumers who ultimately bore the cost of these illegal taxes — deserve better than this stonewalling. This money does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to the businesses and individuals you illegally taxed.
The administration must immediately:
Direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin processing automatic refunds for all tariffs and customs duties unlawfully collected under IEEPA since January 20, 2025;
Establish a transparent and expeditious refund process that prioritizes small businesses and ensures that funds are returned to those who bore the costs;
Provide a clear public timeline — no longer than 90 days — for the initiation of refund disbursements; and
Cease any efforts to delay, condition, or deny refunds pending further litigation, in keeping with your prior assurances that refunds would be issued if the Court ruled.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was not, as you characterized it, “a loss for the American people.” It was a reaffirmation that no president is above the law. The true loss for the American people would be an administration that collected over $130 billion in illegal taxes and then refused — with a smile and a shrug — to give it back. If this administration does not act, Congress will.
Sincerely,
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