Trump prepares to make new case for tariffs at State of the Union. Even some Republicans are skeptical.

Ben Werschkul · Washington Correspondent

更新時間 Tue, February 24, 2026 at 11:16 PM GMT+9 4 min read

When President Trump heads to Capitol Hill tonight to make the case for his new approach to tariffs, he will face an audience growing skeptical of his trade policy.

While Trump says he doesn’t need Congress, the president has seen his support on the tariff issue seeping away — accelerated by the Supreme Court’s decision striking down his sweeping emergency duties.

Among lawmakers, there have been bipartisan votes in both chambers to rebuke his tariffs, as well as a new Democratic pledge to block an extension of the new Section 122 tariffs when they come up for congressional review in 150 days.

Among voters, some polls show Americans opposed to Trump’s tariffs by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Just this week, a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that 64% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of tariffs, while only 34% approve.

President Trump is seen at the White House on Feb. 23. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) · SAUL LOEB via Getty Images

_Read more: _The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs

Tariffs will be one of many themes to watch Tuesday night as the president tries to sell his economy amid new levels of trade uncertainty following the court’s 6-3 decision that found his blanket tariffs illegal.

Trump will be face-to-face with the lawmakers, as well as Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump nominated to the court and ruled against him on tariffs. He called their decision on tariffs “an embarrassment to their families.”

Trump, meanwhile, said he is approaching the speech as a victory tour of sorts, claiming on Monday that he is overseeing “the greatest economy we’ve ever had,” despite what the polls say.

“It’s gonna be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,” he said.

Rocky Capitol Hill terrain on tariffs

Congress is unlikely to be able to block new tariff actions by Trump, but the White House is just as unlikely to secure widespread congressional support.

A slim bipartisan majority has moved with increasing boldness in voting against Trump’s tariffs — with Republican leaders acknowledging that their party is split on the issue.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday, “It’s going to be, I think, a challenge to find consensus on any path forward on the tariffs on the legislative side.”

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett attend President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) · Win McNamee via Getty Images

“So the question moving forward is how to work with the administration from a congressional level to come up with the right plan moving forward,” Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican who voted against a recent measure to rebuke Trump’s Canada tariffs, said during a Yahoo Finance appearance this week.

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“Tariffs are a vehicle to force trade renegotiations,” he added. “We have seen it.”

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are pledging to block an extension of the Section 122 tariffs the president imposed this week when they come up for congressional review in late July.

Trump isn’t publicly expressing worry, posting Monday on social media, “I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs. It has already been gotten.”

_Read more: _5 ways to tariff-proof your finances

Skeptical audience of Trump’s economy

Trump’s tariff pitch is expected to be part of a larger message touting his economic stewardship, with the unveiling of new measures to lower costs and perhaps increase Americans’ ability to save, after a year when the public mood has been in steady decline.

An average of recent polls on the economy from RealClearPolitics finds just 40.8% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 55.6% disapprove. The president’s numbers on inflation are even worse.

One poll from CNN found just 32% of Americans think Trump has the right priorities and an overall approval rating at 36%, with his numbers down across various demographics and ideologies over the last year.

In a new Marist Poll, 57% of respondents said the state of the union is “not very strong” or “not strong at all.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer takes questions from journalists on Feb. 12. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) · BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images

Democrats are eager to highlight and exploit the sour public mood in the coming months ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Lindsay Owens, executive director of the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative, told reporters on a call this week that the economy during Trump’s first term was his “superpower” amid higher overall approval ratings.

But that has flipped.

She said it’s been “really an incredible reversal of fortune for the president and Republicans.”

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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