Enumerated powers

Topics

• DOJ sues California to halt Glock ban and handgun roster
• US declines to renew USMCA, begins annual reviews of $2 trillion trade deal

Bills

No direct record in this edition.

Court cases

• Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump

  The tariff dispute required the Court to distinguish Congress's Article I authority from the narrower authority supplied to the executive by IEEPA.

Practice questions

• On July 1, 2026, the Trump administration's Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against California challenging two gun laws. Which court received the complaint, and what case number did it receive?
• The U.S. Department of Justice sent a demand letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta on June 24, 2026, warning of a federal lawsuit over two gun laws. California's deadline to respond was June 30, 2026, at 5 p.m.
• Place these events in the correct chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
• Before the Trump DOJ used 34 U.S.C. section 12601 to challenge California's gun laws, how had the federal government primarily used this statute?
• California Assembly Bill 1127, signed October 10, 2025, bans dealer sales of any semiautomatic pistol with a specific internal feature. What is that feature?
• Under the common use doctrine from District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), a state may ban any firearm model that criminals use more frequently than law-abiding citizens.
• On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Wolford v. Lopez 6-3, with Justice Samuel Alito writing for the majority. The DOJ cites this ruling in its California complaint, but legal analysts note a key limitation in applying it to the Glock case. What is that limitation?
• Harmeet Dhillon, confirmed as DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights by a 52-45 Senate vote on April 3, 2025, announced a new section of the Civil Rights Division in December 2025. What was novel about this section?
• When the DOJ wins a section 12601 case through a negotiated resolution rather than a trial, what legal instrument typically ends the case?
• If the federal district court in United States v. California grants the DOJ's requested statewide injunctive relief, California's AB1127 and the Handgun Roster would immediately become permanently unenforceable.
• On July 1, 2026, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that the United States would not renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in its current form. What immediate legal consequence did that decision trigger?
• True or False: USMCA Article 34.7 requires that all three parties — the US, Mexico, and Canada — unanimously confirm they want to extend the agreement in order for the extension to take effect.
• Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution gives Congress the power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations" and "to lay and collect... Duties." The USMCA was implemented through a congressional statute in 2020. What does this constitutional structure mean for any USMCA replacement agreement the Trump administration negotiates?
• Place these events in the order they occurred in the USMCA tariff and review timeline from 2020 to 2026.
• On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — doesn't authorize the president to impose tariffs. Within hours of that ruling, Trump issued a new proclamation. What statutory authority did he invoke?
• NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, entered into force on January 1, 1994, after President George H.W. Bush signed it in December 1992 and Congress approved it in November 1993. Trump called NAFTA "the worst trade deal ever made" during his 2016 campaign. By 2020 he had replaced it with USMCA, calling it "the best trade deal ever signed." How did the US auto sector's employment pattern change between 1994 and 2020 under NAFTA?
• USMCA requires that 40 percent of a passenger vehicle's value be produced by workers earning at least $16 per hour — a rule designed to narrow the wage gap between Mexican and US auto workers. In 2025, about 550,000 Mexican workers were employed in the auto sector. Why did the US negotiate this Labor Value Content rule into USMCA, and what does it aim to prevent?
• Jamieson Greer was confirmed by the Senate as the 20th U.S. Trade Representative on February 27, 2025. He personally hosted the July 1, 2026 virtual trilateral meeting at which the US declined to renew USMCA. What was Greer's prior connection to the USMCA?
• The USMCA was implemented through a "congressional-executive agreement" — an act of Congress approved by simple majorities in both chambers. A formal treaty under Article II of the Constitution requires a two-thirds Senate vote. The USMCA implementing act passed the Senate 89-10. Why do free trade agreements get structured as congressional-executive agreements rather than Article II treaties?
• In the months before the July 1, 2026 USMCA joint review, Canada and Mexico pursued sharply different strategies with the United States. Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on US goods; Mexico entered bilateral USMCA talks with USTR as early as March 2026. A third round of US-Mexico talks was scheduled for the week of July 20. What risk does Canada's retaliatory posture create for its negotiating position?
• Which institution writes the statutes that delegate tariff authority?
• Put a simplified federal bill path in order.
• What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
• Who makes federal laws?
• Which branch receives the Constitution's power to regulate commerce with foreign nations?
• When a court interprets the boundary of a tariff statute, is it writing a replacement tariff law?
• Presidential administration of a tariff statute permanently transfers Congress's foreign-commerce power to the president.
• A House vote passing an election bill means the proposal has completed every step required to become federal law.
• The Elections Clause alone supplies one general federal power over every aspect of presidential elections.
• Which institution holds the federal power of the purse?
• Before a federal bill is presented to the president, what must the House and Senate do?
• Which branch receives the constitutional power to declare war?
• The title commander in chief eliminates every congressional role in military affairs.