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DOJ signals it’s still digging into Biden autopen use despite reports probe fizzled

Republican-led House Oversight Committee called Biden’s autopen use a scandal and recommended further DOJ investigation

By Ashley Oliver
Fox News

Published March 5, 2026 11:26am EST

The Department of Justice indicated Thursday it is still investigating the legality of former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen despite reports that the probe has been shelved because prosecutors have been unable to identify any criminal charges to bring.

Multiple sources told Fox News Digital that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office was still looking into the Biden White House’s autopen use after the New York Times reported that the inquiry was recently tabled.

Pirro responded to the report in an X post on Thursday, saying the DOJ “cannot comment on ongoing investigations,” signaling the investigation remained open.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the “inquiry was quietly shelved” because the DOJ failed “to build a criminal case against Mr. Biden and his aides.”

Jonathan Turley, George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor, previously said legal challenges to Biden’s autopen use would likely be unsuccessful.

“Many are suggesting that the Biden pardons may now be challenged in light of the disclosures of Biden’s use of an autopen,” Turley wrote on social media in 2025. “The chances of such challenges succeeding are vanishingly low. Presidents are allowed to use the autopen and courts will not presume a dead-hand conspiracy.”

While other presidents have used autopens, including Trump — who has said he used it on “unimportant” documents — Biden’s became a flashpoint as scrutiny of his mental acuity grew during his tenure.

BIDEN’S ‘AUTOPEN SIGNATURE’ APPEARS ON MOST OFFICIAL DOCS, RAISING CONCERNS OVER WHO CONTROLLED THE WH: REPORT

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee investigated the matter, interviewing several former Biden staffers. The committee alleged in a report that Biden’s use of the autopen amounted to a scandal and recommended the DOJ investigate further.

“As President Biden declined, his staff abused the autopen and a lax chain-of-command policy to effect executive actions that lack any documentation of whether they were in fact authorized,” the report read.

Trump has been eager to see accountability over the autopen, claiming on social media that any staff who used the autopen on behalf of Biden did so “illegally” and threatening the former president with perjury charges.

Biden has forcefully denied the allegations, saying in a statement last year he was in charge of decision-making.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden said. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

The committee had homed in on Biden’s pardons, including five controversial pardons for his family members in the final days of his presidency, saying there was a lack of “contemporaneous documentation” to corroborate that Biden directly ordered the pardons.

The committee asked the DOJ to investigate “all of former President Biden’s executive actions, particularly clemency actions, to assess whether legal action must be taken to void any action that the former president did not, in fact, take himself.”

TRUMP RENEWS ATTACKS ON BIDEN AUTOPEN PARDONS, CLAIMS HE ‘NEVER GAVE THE ORDERS’

Asked for comment, the White House deferred to the DOJ.

DOJ headquarters declined to comment.

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Who will be Iran’s next supreme leader? One name, Mojtaba Khamenei, stands out.

By

Imtiaz Tyab Senior foreign correspondent
Imtiaz Tyab is a CBS News senior foreign correspondent based in London and reports for all platforms, including the

Mike Johnson asks embattled House Republican Tony Gonzales to drop re-election bid

Rep. Tony Gonzales is facing a runoff election in May

By Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News

Published March 5, 2026 12:58pm EST

House GOP leaders have asked embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, to drop his bid for re-election.

“The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation,” the statement by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other top Republicans reads.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election.”

Gonzales’ re-election bid has been plagued by scandal for weeks ever since allegations emerged that he had an affair with his late aide and sent her sexually explicit text messages.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, arrives for a press conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

The same aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, committed suicide by setting herself on fire outside her home late last year.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., leader of the House GOP campaign arm, told Fox News Digital, “I agree with the Speaker and the rest of leadership, Tony should withdraw from the runoff and allow the Ethics process to move forward while focusing on his family and serving his constituents for the remainder of his term.”

Gonzales suggested the affair did occur on the conservative “Joe Pags Show” on Wednesday evening but gave no indication he would drop out.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions. Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever,” the Texas Republican said.

He previously fought back against any accusation of impropriety and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of extortion.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., praises President Donald Trump’s policies and agenda ahead of his State of the Union speech, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.(J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

“During my six years [in Congress, not a single formal complaint has been levied against my office. Now days away from an election, coordinated political attacks reign in. IT WON’T WORK. Halfway through early voting and the intensity resides w/ TG voters. I’d rather be us than them,” he posted on X in late February.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday, one day after he advanced to a runoff in his re-election bid.

Gonzales is facing Brandon Herrera, a social media influencer and firearms activist who previously challenged the incumbent lawmaker in 2024. Herrera lost to Gonzales by less than 2% in the previous election cycle.

This time, however, neither clinched an outright majority in the race and will now face off again in late May, if Gonzales does not drop out.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gonzales’ congressional office for comment.

[DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS TSA ‘EMERGENCY MEASURES’ AS LAWMAKER WARNS AIRPORTS COULD FEEL ECONOMIC PAIN]

Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera speaks during a campaign rally at the Constantino’s Pizza restaurant in Somerset, Texas, on Feb. 26, 2026.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

Meanwhile, the growing scandal has prompted several of Gonzales’ fellow House Republicans to call for his resignation before the end of his term.

“I would encourage him to consider resigning,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told reporters last week.

His fellow Texas lawmaker, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, urged Gonzales not to run for re-election. “America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race,” he posted on X.

Gonzales previously told reporters he had no intention of resigning.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gonzales’ congressional office and campaign for comment.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

Gas prices are up 26 cents since last week. Here’s how much Americans around the U.S. are paying.

March 5, 2026 / 1:01 PM EST / CBS News

The Iran war continues to push up prices at the pump, with U.S. consumers now paying about 26 cents more per gallon to fuel their cars than a week ago, according to new data from GasBuddy.

As of Thursday morning, the average gasoline price was $3.246 per gallon, the highest level since April 2025. The uptick represents an “unusually strong weekly climb,” according to Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy.

The average price per gallon is similar to data from AAA, which shows gasoline prices hovering around the same level. Diesel prices have also climbed, rising 40 cents over the last week, according to GasBuddy.

After sliding for months, gas prices dipped below $3 in December, only to rise again as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran intensified.

“Oil prices have been creeping up on the possibility of attacks,” De Haan told CBS News. “The actual attacks themselves, obviously, are a major escalation.”

De Haan expects the price of gasoline to rise by another 10 to 15 cents per gallon over the next week. After that, the pace of price hikes should start to moderate, he added.

It could, however, take longer for diesel prices to cool because inventory is tighter, he said. The average price of diesel climbed to $4.124 per gallon this week, the highest level since December 2023, according to GasBuddy.

Why are prices rising so sharply?

Gas prices are ticking higher as the Iran war constrains global oil supply. Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, while retaliatory attacks through the Middle East have dented oil production.

The U.S. is now losing access to around 20 million barrels of oil supply a day as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slows, according to De Haan.

“Nothing can replace that,” he said.

President Trump this week tapped the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to insure ships sailing through the Persian Gulf to minimize further disruption.

Brent crude, the international standard, climbed $3.03, or 3.7%, to $84.42 per barrel on Thursday morning. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $4.03, or 5.4%, to $78.70 a barrel, according to FactSet.

When it comes to rising diesel costs, De Haan pointed to drone attacks on a Saudi refinery this week and Qatar’s decision to shut down natural gas production, two factors that are putting upward pressure on prices.

QatarEnergy, the country’s state-owned oil company, halted liquefied natural gas (LNG) production on Monday. That prompted gas prices in European and Asian markets to jump.

While the Iran war is the primary cause of rising U.S. gas prices, seasonal factors are contributing another 10% to 15%, De Haan said.

“We see gas prices go up every spring,” he said. “Demand starts going up.”

Edited by Aimee Picchi

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/oil-prices-spike-as-war-in-iran-strains-global-supply/
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/gas-prices-soar-for-americans-after-trump-wages-war-on-iran/

Could Iran attack on U.S. soil?

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/experts-break-down-iran-threats-to-us/

Senate Democrats again blocked Republicans’ attempt to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as background negotiations appear to have fizzled out.

It came just minutes after Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota congresswoman and governor who led President Donald Trump’s DHS in his second term, was ousted from her position on Wednesday.

The agency has been shuttered for nearly three weeks, and Democrats’ latest rejection of a full-year funding bill likely ensures that the closure extends into a fourth week.

[image_1]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus remained dug in on their position that unless the White House caters to their list of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), they wouldn’t play ball.

[image_2]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats again blocked a bid by Republicans to fund the Department of Homeland Security.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“It’s very easy for them to get all of this funded — simply agree to our common-sense proposals on ICE and Border Patrol,” Schumer said before the vote. “These are proposals. What we’ve asked for is what every police force does in terms of our negotiations. Look, we’re still far apart, but we’re still negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth.”

The vote came moments after Trump announced he would nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Noem as the new DHS chief, following reports that Trump was “furious” with her performance in bicameral Judiciary Committee hearings this week.

[TRUMP SAYS ‘LOSERS’ SCHUMER, DEMS WOULD HAVE CRITICIZED ANY DECISION HE MADE ON IRAN]

[image_3]

President Donald Trump speaks about Iran before a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House, March 2, 2026, in Washington.(Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Meanwhile, Trump’s Operation Epic Fury has taken center stage in the upper chamber, with a Democratic push to rein in his war authorities in the Middle East hitting a red wall of Republican resistance on Wednesday.

And as the strikes continue, it has spurred calls from Senate Republicans to fund the agency as concerns over retaliation on American soil increase.

[image_4]

“Look, I’m not going to vote to fund Ice and let them detain, brutalize, shoot, or kill more American citizens just because Donald Trump started an unconstitutional war that no one asked for,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.

The House is expected to vote on a slightly modified version of the DHS funding bill later in the day, which is expected to pass in the lower chamber. Even if it does, given the current political standoff, it would likely go nowhere in the Senate.

[DHS FUNDING BILL FAILS AFTER SCHUMER REJECTS TRUMP’S ICE REFORM OFFER]

[image_5]

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that Democrats were continuing their push to keep DHS closed because it was “politically advantageous.”(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

The last offer made public by either side came last Friday, when the White House sent congressional Democrats what officials called a “serious” counter-proposal. While it appeared that progress was being made after a week of silence, Schumer and Democrats still weren’t satisfied.

A frustrated Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that Democrats had “rebuffed” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., whom he anointed to run point for the GOP in negotiations, after repeated attempts to reach out to their counterparts.

He also charged that it appeared the decision to ignore Britt and Republicans was coming from Schumer.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

“I would say, beyond not engaging, they are just flat rejecting any chance to sit down and actually talk about it,” Thune said. “And that seems to be coming from the top.”

[image_6]

“I think they see this as [politically advantageous] to them, but this is a posture they’ve adopted which has become increasingly clear — it is just a flat-out unwillingness to try and solve this problem or fund the department,” he continued. “At some point, something bad is going to happen.”

Related Article

[image_7]

[Operation Epic Fury survives Senate challenge as Republicans close ranks behind Trump]

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Read Trump’s statement on Truth Social about Noem being replaced as DHS secretary | CNN Politics

By Sara Anwar, CNN
Updated 2:38 PM EST, Thu March 5, 2026

President Donald Trump said Thursday on social media he was pushing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem out of her position and would nominate Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.

FIRST ON FOX: As U.S. and Israeli military pressure on Iran intensifies, and President Donald Trump signals support for Kurdish forces, Kurdish opposition groups along the country’s western frontier tell Fox News Digital they are watching closely for an opportunity to strike back against the Islamic Republic, which they have fought for decades.

Kako Aliyar, a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdish opposition party Komala, told Fox News Digital from an undisclosed location in Iraq that the Kurdish movements are ready to act if conditions allow.

“Kurds have been waiting for a moment to do something,” Aliyar said. “We believe that those moments are not far from us.”

But Aliyar said Kurdish forces cannot yet move against the regime because Iran still retains the ability to launch missile and drone attacks, which opposition fighters would struggle to defend against.

Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq Feb. 12, 2026.(Thaier Al-Sudani/ Reuters)

Aliyar said Iranian forces continue to target Kurdish opposition bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Trump signaled support for Kurdish fighters launching an offensive against Iran, saying in a telephone interview with Reuters Thursday that he would back such a move.

“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that — I’d be all for it,” Trump said.

Asked whether the United States would provide air cover for a Kurdish offensive, Trump declined to elaborate.

“I can’t tell you that,” he said.

Aliyar said Kurdish groups remain under pressure from Iran and continue to face attacks on their bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

“Our camps, the Kurdish political parties, are still under attack by the Iranian regime, and we can’t go into detail,” he said.

Still, he indicated that if the opportunity arises, Kurdish fighters would attempt to return to Iranian territory.

“If we get an opportunity to go back to our own country, we will use it,” he said.

Kurdish opposition signals unity

The comments come as Iranian Kurdish opposition groups attempt to present a united front against Iran.

In February, several factions formed the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, bringing together parties including Komala, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), PJAK and the Kurdistan Freedom Party.

Aliyar said the coalition is still organizing itself but carries an important political message.

“Politically, it’s a huge message for the Kurdish people inside the country and the international community that Kurds are united,” he said. “We are working together, and we are trying to reach our goals together.”

Kurdish groups have long fought the Iranian government. Armed clashes between Kurdish militants and Iranian forces date back to the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Kurdish factions sought autonomy and were violently suppressed by Tehran.

Today, many Kurdish opposition groups operate from neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan, where they maintain political offices and limited military forces.

[NETANYAHU INSISTS US AND ISRAEL’S STRIKES ON IRAN WON’T LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’]

A general view of Tehran, Iran, with smoke visible in the distance after explosions were reported in the city, March 2, 2026.(Contributor/Getty Images)

Waiting for Iran’s military capabilities to weaken

Aliyar suggested Kurdish forces would only be able to move if Iran’s military capabilities are significantly degraded.

“I believe those missile and drone abilities have to be more weakened or totally removed because we are not able to defend ourselves against them,” he said.

Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones remains one of the regime’s strongest deterrents against internal or external challengers.

“They can still launch missiles and they can still kill people,” Aliyar said.

If those capabilities were reduced, he believes Kurdish forces could attempt to exploit the moment.

“I think everyone has the capacity to do so because Kurdish political parties have huge legitimacy among the people,” he said. “People support them, people support us.”

However, Aliyar cautioned that no one can predict how events will unfold.

“When a war starts, you are trying to find a way to use it in your best way, but you cannot predict what happens tomorrow,” he said.

Kurdish resistance rooted in decades of struggle

Kurds in Iran represent one of the country’s largest ethnic minorities and have historically maintained organized opposition movements.

Kurdish parties developed armed wings and political networks decades ago, giving them a level of organizational structure that many other Iranian opposition movements lack.

Jino Victoria Doabi, an international political analyst focused on Iran and Kurdistan, told Fox News Digital, “Kurds inside Iran have their own history and tradition of struggle and resistance with political parties and armed forces.”

Doabi said Kurdish forces are unlikely to move without clear backing from Washington.

[TRUMP TELLS IRANIANS THE ‘HOUR OF YOUR FREEDOM IS AT HAND’ AS US-ISRAEL LAUNCH STRIKES AGAINST]

[IRAN]

Bombing occurs in Iran on Feb. 28, 2026.(Fatemeh Bahrami/Getty Images)

“For that to happen, they need assurance from America, both politically but also security-wise,” Doabi said.

“Kurds have learned that they cannot just do it for the good cause anymore, because that’s going to cause civilians a lot of pain and destruction and killings.”

Discussions about the idea of Kurdish involvement may have been underway long before the recent escalation, according to Doabi.

“I don’t think this has happened overnight,” she said. “I think this has been discussed for a long time.”

Regional complications

Despite the growing attention on Kurdish groups, Aliyar emphasized that Iraqi Kurdish authorities are not directly involved in any potential campaign.

“Iraqi Kurds are not part of it,” he said. “I am not Iraqi, so I cannot comment on that.”

Analysts say Kurdish insurgents alone are unlikely to topple the Iranian regime. But if internal unrest spreads and Kurdish forces coordinate with broader opposition movements, Iran’s western frontier could become a serious pressure point for Iran.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

A person holds an image of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iranian demonstrators protest against the U.S.-Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Feb. 28, 2026.(Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)

For Aliyar and other Kurdish leaders, however, the goal remains clear after decades of opposition to the Islamic Republic.

“We have had this desire for 47 years,” he said. “If we get an opportunity, we will use it.”

Related Article

[If Khamenei falls, who takes Iran? Strikes will expose power vacuum — and the IRGC’s grip]

Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

FBI investigating ‘suspicious’ cyber activities on critical surveillance network

2026-03-05 / CNN

[Paula Reid], [Sean Lyngaas], [Evan Perez], [Katelyn Polantz]
1 hr 46 min ago

PUBLISHED Mar 5, 2026, 1:17 PM ET

Federal agencies Digital security National security

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The logo of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seen at the Los Angeles Federal Building on June 4, 2025.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images/File

The FBI has identified a suspected cybersecurity incident on a sensitive network used to manage wiretaps and intelligence surveillance warrants, and officials are working to determine the seriousness of the incident, according to an FBI statement and a source familiar with the investigation.

“The FBI identified and addressed suspicious activities on FBI networks, and we have leveraged all technical capabilities to respond,” the bureau said in a statement to CNN on Thursday, declining to elaborate.

A source familiar with the investigation told CNN the cybersecurity incident is related to a digital system the bureau uses to manage wiretapping and foreign intelligence surveillance warrants as part of investigations.

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The recently discovered cybersecurity incident has prompted senior officials at the FBI and Justice Department focused on civil liberties and national security to respond, the source said.

Like other major federal agencies and corporations, the FBI is a regular target of hackers seeking sensitive information held by the bureau. But breaches to the bureau’s systems are rarely disclosed.

It’s not clear whether the latest “suspicious activity” uncovered by the FBI is connected to the serious Salt Typhoon breach attributed to Chinese intelligence that affected a variety of US government networks. Suspected Chinese hackers are believed to have infiltrated private sector communications providers and targeted national security networks, [CNN reported] in 2024.

The recent possible breach comes amid what some current and former officials say has been a diminishing of the FBI’s cybersecurity response capabilities, with FBI Director Kash Patel pushing out some of the senior officials overseeing the information technology operations and experts overseeing the FBI’s handling of the Salt Typhoon response.

The increased turnover in FBI ranks, and wider upheaval at the FBI in the past year, has added to challenges the US faces in thwarting foreign cyberattacks, the current and former officials say.

CNN [reported] on a separate breach in 2023 that targeted affected a computer system in the New York FBI field office used in investigations of images of child sexual exploitation, including a system used to store images from the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, according to people briefed on the matter.

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Twenty-four US states file lawsuit to stop Trump’s latest global tariffs

March 5, 2026 5:38 PM UTC / Reuters

By Dietrich Knauth

March 5 (Reuters) – A group of 24 U.S. states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday in the first legal challenge to his newly imposed 10% global tariffs, alleging that the president cannot sidestep a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of his previous tariffs on imported goods by citing new legal authority.

The Democratic-led states, including New York, California and Oregon, argue the new tariffs, which Trump announced immediately after the high court ruling on February 20, are also illegal. The tariffs were imposed for 150 days under the Trade Act of 1974, which is meant to address short-term monetary emergencies, not routine trade deficits that arise when a wealthy nation like the United States imports more than it exports, according to the states’ lawsuit filed in the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade.

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节点运行失败

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said during a press conference that Trump’s latest tariffs are an attempted “end run” around working with Congress, as the U.S. Constitution requires.

“Make no mistake about it, President Trump’s signature economic policy is historically unpopular and is costing Americans, our business, and us as states hundreds of billions of dollars,” Rayfield said. “It cannot continue just because a few of Trump’s lawyers have found a way to twist words and craft a legal argument.”

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement that the administration will vigorously defend the president’s action in court.

“The President is using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country’s large and serious balance-of-payments deficits,” Desai said.

Trump’s February 20 executive order imposed a 10% tariff on imports, but U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that those rates would likely rise to 15% later this week.

CENTRAL PILLAR

Trump has made tariffs a central pillar of his foreign policy in his second term, claiming sweeping authority to issue tariffs without input from Congress. But the Supreme Court on February 20 handed Trump a stinging defeat when it struck down a huge swath of tariffs he had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ruling that the law did not give him the power he claimed.

Trump responded by criticizing the justices who ruled against him and announcing new duties under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law that – like IEEPA – had never before been used to impose tariffs in the U.S. Trump has also imposed other tariffs, on imports like autos, steel and aluminum, under more traditional legal authority. Those tariffs are safer from legal challenges.

Section 122 authority allows the president to impose duties of up to 15% for up to 150 days on any and all countries to address “large and serious” balance of payments issues. It does not require investigations or impose other procedural limits. After 150 days, Congress would need to approve their extension.

The balance-of-payments deficit measures in the Trade Act are primarily meant to address “archaic” monetary risks that existed when foreign governments could trade in their dollars for gold held by the U.S., according to the states. Trump, however, has misapplied that standard in an attempt to instead address U.S. “trade deficits,” which occur when a nation imports more than it exports, according to the states.

The states that filed the lawsuit include 22 states with Democratic attorneys general and two, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, with Democratic governors and Republican attorneys general. They are asking the court to issue an order that would block the new tariffs and order any tariff payments already made under Section 122 authority to be refunded.

Meanwhile, the court is grappling with about 2,000 lawsuits from businesses seeking refunds for more than $130 billion in IEEPA tariff payments made by importers before the Supreme Court’s February ruling. On Wednesday, the court ordered U.S. Customs to begin processing tariff refunds.

Reporting by Dietrich Knauth in New York, Nate Raymond in Boston, Jan Wolfe in Washington, D.C., Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Diane Craft

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.