Tariff Fight Returns: Johnson Seeks Ban On Votes Challenging Trump Tariffs — Immigration Court Drops Case Against Tufts Student

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) is pushing the House to renew a self‑imposed rule that would bar members from seeking floor votes to challenge President Donald Trump's tariffs through August, a measure that could see a close vote amid reported White House pressure. In a separate legal development, an immigration court dismissed the government's case to deport Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk after her visa was revoked over an anti‑Israel op‑ed.

House Vote On Tariff Challenges

The measure up for a vote would prevent members of the House from introducing or calling for floor votes on resolutions that challenge the administration's tariff actions through August, Speaker Johnson told reporters, according to Politico. Punchbowl News reports the vote is expected to be tight, with several Republicans already opposed. The White House has reportedly lobbied members to back the ban.

The Trump administration has asserted authority to set tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last November in a case that could curb the administration's unilateral use of IEEPA to impose broad tariffs, leaving a pending judicial check on executive power.

While the Court deliberates, the president has continued to threaten and announce tariffs for a variety of reasons — most recently announcing, then pausing, tariffs on European countries after disputes over Greenland. Congressional action to block presidential tariffs could create more certainty for trade, but Speaker Johnson has signaled little appetite for Congress reclaiming its constitutional role in setting tariff and tax policy.

Immigration Ruling: Rumeysa Ozturk

An immigration judge dismissed the Department of Homeland Security's case to remove Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, finding the government did not prove she needed to be deported. Ozturk drew national attention after masked federal agents arrested her near her Somerville, Massachusetts, home following the State Department's revocation of her student visa over an anti‑Israel op‑ed she co‑authored.

She spent roughly a month in detention before a Vermont judge ordered her release in early May. The State Department memo cited Ozturk's alleged associations and said she was "involved in associations that 'may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization,' including [co‑authoring] an op‑ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus."

The administration's broader effort to deport foreign students for anti‑Israel activism prompted lawsuits and coordinated opposition from students and free‑speech advocates, who contend that the First Amendment limits the government's ability to punish protected speech. Courts have often — though not always — ruled in favor of the students. In a related case, an appeals court earlier overturned a lower court ruling that had freed Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil; Khalil remains free for now while litigation continues.

Ozturk told reporters she felt relief at the ruling and hopes it offers encouragement to others who feel they have been wronged by the government, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Scenes From Washington

• Buddhist monks conclude a 2,300‑mile "Walk for Peace" from Fort Worth to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
• The New York Times released previously classified pages of Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony describing Pentagon surveillance of the National Security Council.
• Politico reports a New Jersey Democratic House candidate who pledged "no negativity" nonetheless attempted to dig up information on opponents.
• A federal judge partially blocked a California law banning federal officers from wearing masks, finding the law discriminates against the federal government while upholding ID requirements for agents (Associated Press).
• The administration says it will repeal a major federal rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

Context: These developments touch on continuing tensions between congressional prerogatives and executive power over trade policy, and on the balance between national security concerns and free‑speech protections for noncitizen students. The outcomes in both political and legal arenas will shape how tariffs are set and how dissenting speech by foreign students is treated in the United States.