CSPAN - Washington Journal Susan Ferrechio
Aired: 2026-02-23
Duration: 12:57


=== Supreme Court Strikes Down Tariffs (08:24) ===

[00:00:00]  As President Donald Trump delivers the annual State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress, our coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern with a preview of the evening from political reporters.
[00:00:11]  Then, at 9, the president's address, followed by the Democratic response given by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanbergson.
[00:00:19]  We'll also take your calls and bring you reaction from lawmakers.
[00:00:22]  Over on C-SPAN 2, experience the moments leading up to the speech and the address itself as if you're there, uninterrupted.
[00:00:30]  No commentary with unfiltered sights and sounds.
[00:00:34]  The State of the Union Address live Tuesday with coverage beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern on the C-SPAN Networks.
[00:00:41]  C-SPAN, bringing you democracy unfiltered.
[00:00:48]  Well, coming up shortly, Massachusetts Governor Mara Healy will have an update on the winter storm from the State Emergency Operations Center in Massachusetts.
[00:00:56]  We're going to bring that to you live here on C-SPAN when it gets underway.
[00:01:02]  Susan Ferriccio is back with us this morning.
[00:01:04]  She's been covering Washington and politics for three decades.
[00:01:07]  She's currently national political correspondent for the Washington Times.
[00:01:10]  And Susan Fauricio, start with a follow-up.
[00:01:12]  After the Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs on Friday, we saw the president boosting what he said was going to be a 10% global rate to a 15% rate.
[00:01:23]  Now, what more are you watching for out of the White House this week?
[00:01:27]  Well, the President first announced the 10% and then he upped it to 15% global tariffs in response to the Supreme Court 6-3 ruling striking down his use of the 1977 trade law.
[00:01:41]  Now that that has been set aside, the president is going to refocus his trade policy on other authorities that he can use to impose tariffs.
[00:01:50]  And there are several and some that will keep tariffs ongoing, such as the aluminum and steel tariffs and other tariffs that can be associated with national security.
[00:02:01]  I think we'll see those tariffs continue.
[00:02:04]  And the next shooter drop in this will be what happens to the tariff revenue that's already come in.
[00:02:11]  There's upwards of $140 to $190 billion in tariffs now that are in question.
[00:02:18]  And how will those rebates go back to the sellers, the people who are sending items into the United States?
[00:02:26]  I know that we heard yesterday from the Trump administration that they're waiting to hear from the trade courts on this, on how to deal with this revenue.
[00:02:36]  How will they refund this revenue?
[00:02:38]  So that's going to be a really important component of the fallout of this Supreme Court ruling.
[00:02:43]  And then next, I think we'll just hear more about how the president will try to jam through tariffs going around the Supreme Court ruling.
[00:02:51]  They've had a backup plan in place, they claim, kind of realizing the Supreme Court might vote this way.
[00:02:58]  And I think you'll hear the president talk more about ways that he'll try to impose these tariffs going around the Supreme Court.
[00:03:04]  This 15% tariff has a time limit on it.
[00:03:06]  He can only do it for a few months before he would need congressional approval.
[00:03:11]  I don't anticipate that the Trump administration will realistically expect Congress to vote to approve tariffs, which is the only way he could go forward again with these reciprocal tariffs that he had imposed over the past year.
[00:03:24]  So I think they're going to try to do the unilateral approach where they're not relying on Congress, which is what the Trump administration has done with a lot of his policies since taking office.
[00:03:36]  And so I would be keeping my eye on more things that the Trump administration could do with existing authorities in the law to try to impose these tariffs and to keep these trade deals in place that he's already negotiated with many different countries.
[00:03:54]  How many answers do you think we'll have or get from the president on these trade topics by tomorrow night's State of the Union at 9 p.m. Eastern Time?
[00:04:02]  How much do you think this decision is impacting or restructuring how the President will give that address?
[00:04:09]  That's a really interesting question because we know who will be in the audience.
[00:04:13]  At least some members of the Supreme Court will be there.
[00:04:16]  And we can recall back to the Obama administration where he famously rebuked the Supreme Court from his position in Congress addressing Congress at the State of the Union.
[00:04:29]  So one wonders what will President Trump have to say with the Supreme Court sitting there?
[00:04:34]  He's already criticized them for the ruling.
[00:04:37]  Some of them were his own appointees who ruled against him on this.
[00:04:40]  So I'm curious to hear how he responds.
[00:04:44]  He's not happy.
[00:04:45]  We know that.
[00:04:46]  He may talk about his plans to keep using tariffs as a central part of his economic agenda.
[00:04:54]  Now, remember, the president's doing this for a multitude of reasons that he's already made clear.
[00:04:59]  And we may hear more of this tomorrow night.
[00:05:02]  That is bringing jobs back to the United States, balancing trade deficits.
[00:05:06]  So we're bringing revenue into the U.S. that we weren't getting before, securing deals that are fair to U.S. producers, thus helping our economy in that effect.
[00:05:16]  We're able to sell more goods overseas.
[00:05:18]  So he's just secured a lot of good deals for the U.S.
[00:05:21]  So he does have a lot to brag about on that part of it.
[00:05:25]  But tariffs are an increase in prices for U.S. American consumers, and they've been a pain, obviously, for other countries as well.
[00:05:34]  So he's got that problem because we know that there is that people feel like prices are too high and tariffs have contributed to that.
[00:05:43]  So he's got to deal with that issue as well.
[00:05:45]  But I do expect him to promote what tariffs have done for the U.S. right now in terms of also national security, bringing back production to the U.S.
[00:05:55]  I mean, he's had a lot to say on that, and we'll probably hear him brag about that too on Tuesday night.
[00:06:01]  And we may hear more about how he'll move forward, even though the Supreme Court has struck down his use of many of those tariffs.
[00:06:08]  And what other major themes are you expecting him to hit on?
[00:06:12]  The president coming into the State of the Union address amid a partial government shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, amid a major military buildup in Iran, the most U.S. planes and forces in that region since the time of the Gulf Wars.
[00:06:27]  What are you expecting him to start with when he stands before Congress on Tuesday night?
[00:06:33]  I think if I had to take a wild guess, he'll start with the economic gains that he believes he's accomplished since taking office.
[00:06:41]  And it's a theme we've heard throughout the administration where he talks about the good things that are happening with the economy.
[00:06:47]  And of course, we know that that's different than what polls are telling us.
[00:06:51]  So he's going into the State of the Union with a couple of big polls that have just come out saying that people are not happy with the way things are going in the country.
[00:07:00]  The White House is really aware of this, obviously.
[00:07:04]  And I believe they think that their messaging isn't strong enough on this.
[00:07:08]  So I do expect him to make a central theme of his speech to be about the economic gains.
[00:07:13]  The things that he's accomplished and is taking off as sort of a promises made, promises kept part of the speech where he talks about bringing down prices on some products.
[00:07:24]  Energy prices, a big deal.
[00:07:25]  That's come down quite a bit since the beginning of his administration.
[00:07:30]  And other things, the price of eggs have dropped pretty significantly.
[00:07:33]  That was a big part of the campaign, right?
[00:07:36]  Bringing down the price of eggs.
[00:07:37]  Well, he managed to pull that off.
[00:07:38]  Some dairy has gone down in prices.
[00:07:40]  He can talk about things that have improved the economy in terms of inflation slowing dramatically, the stock market doing well, Steady improvements that he can talk about in the economy that sort of defy what people are feeling and that are showing up in the polls, basically, which is that they're still paying too much at the grocery store.
[00:08:04]  But he's got things to tout.
[00:08:05]  There's no question.
[00:08:07]  His problem is, and this is important in his messaging, is that the public's not feeling that enough.
[00:08:14]  And it's showing up in the polls.
[00:08:15]  And of course, we have this very critical midterm election coming up here in 2026.
[00:08:21]  I imagine one of those polls that you're referring to is this.

=== Democrats Counterpart Messaging (04:32) ===

[00:08:24]  It's the front page of today's Washington Post.
[00:08:27]  As President Donald Trump prepares to address the nation on Tuesday, Americans remain generally sour about his performance.
[00:08:32]  That's according to a new Washington Post, ABC News, Ipsos poll.
[00:08:36]  The president's approval rating stands at 39% positive, 60% negative, including 47% who say they are strongly disapproving of his job performance.
[00:08:45]  The last time President Trump's disapproval touched 60%, that was shortly after the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
[00:08:53]  That new poll out today.
[00:08:54]  We're talking with Susan Friccio this morning ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union, ahead of a very busy week here in Washington, D.C., and a very good person for you to ask your political questions of.
[00:09:05]  She's been covering Washington for three decades, more than that, and often has been with us on the Washington Journal.
[00:09:10]  202-748-8000 for Democrats to call in.
[00:09:14]  202-748-8001 for Republicans.
[00:09:17]  Independents, 202-748-8,002.
[00:09:20]  Susan Friccio, you've seen enough of these state of the unions over the years.
[00:09:24]  What makes a good one?
[00:09:27]  They're all good in their own way.
[00:09:29]  Something will happen at everyone.
[00:09:31]  Either some, you know, the speech will have some important elements that make it different and exciting.
[00:09:35]  The past few State of the Union addresses, I think they've just gotten wilder and wilder as Congress has gotten more partisan.
[00:09:44]  I mean, Congress has gotten, I think, viciously partisan over the past decade.
[00:09:50]  So I'm thinking back to some real, to me, some fascinating State of the Union addresses.
[00:09:56]  Think of the one where I think it was Trump's final State of the Union address of his first term, where the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, famously or infamously tore up the copy of his speech when he concluded his address that went viral.
[00:10:12]  And people still talk about that moment.
[00:10:15]  And then, of course, this very past address that the President gave, it was his first address of his second term.
[00:10:22]  We had a Democratic lawmaker get up and shout at the president in the middle of his speech.
[00:10:28]  And he was removed from the chamber.
[00:10:31]  You're talking about Al Green.
[00:10:32]  Yes, Representative Al Green.
[00:10:34]  And he was rebuked for that by Congress.
[00:10:39]  These things are becoming more demonstrative.
[00:10:42]  I think years ago, people did not bring in these paddles, holding up signs, et cetera.
[00:10:48]  That didn't happen.
[00:10:49]  It was very respectful.
[00:10:50]  And the ugliest you'd see is the one side or the other not standing up and clapping with the other.
[00:10:57]  And I think there have been attempts at bipartisanship.
[00:11:00]  There's one, I think they still do this, where in the Senate where they sit next to opposite party lawmaker and they try to make it more bipartisan.
[00:11:09]  But it's really gotten more vicious.
[00:11:12]  And this year will be interesting because there is a move afoot to try to, for the Democrats, no public demonstrations in the chamber because they don't want to detract from Trump or whatever missteps Trump might make.
[00:11:28]  So the leader of the Democratic Party in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, has told, said, look, if you either don't go or be silent in your protests, but don't get up and make any public demonstrations in the chamber the way Representative Green did last year.
[00:11:46]  So Anybody who's watched Al Green speak on the floor over the past year, he almost always has a poster that's a picture of himself from that very address, pointing his cane at Donald Trump.
[00:11:59]  He's standing there on the House floor with that picture of him from that speech behind him.
[00:12:04]  Right, with pride.
[00:12:05]  You know, it's sort of the resistance.
[00:12:08]  He's been resisting President Trump since the beginning of his first term.
[00:12:14]  So there's some Democrats like the idea of that because it gives them a lot of attention.
[00:12:17]  And there's a lot of people in the party who would cheer that on, right?
[00:12:23]  People in the Democratic Party.
[00:12:25]  So this time around, I think there are a lot of Democrats who are going to go to this alternative programming.
[00:12:30]  They may not be in the chamber.
[00:12:32]  There's other events planned that are sort of counter messaging events.
[00:12:39]  So you might see a lot of Democrats not there in the chamber.
[00:12:43]  Live now to an update from Massachusetts Governor Mara Healy on how the state is handling blizzard conditions.
[00:12:49]  Live coverage here on C-SPAN.
[00:12:51]  Well, good afternoon, everyone.
[00:12:53]  We're here at the bunker today, the State Emergency Operations Center, just to provide an update.