Senate Democrats sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent giving the Trump administration 90 days to refund money illegally collected via tariffs after Bessent said Americans likely wouldn’t see any of the money.

Twenty-four senators signed the letter sent to Bessent on Friday morning, slamming him for backtracking on a statement made before the Supreme Court’s recent decision invalidating President Donald Trump’s tariff scheme. Before the ruling, Bessent said it “won’t be a problem” to refund money collected should the Supreme Court rule against the Trump administration, according to The Hill.

The Supreme Court indeed ruled 6-3 that Trump had illegally used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in order to levy tariffs against countries he felt had slighted the United States. But last Friday, Bessent backtracked, saying that the Court’s ruling instead “pushed it back down to the International Tax and Trade Court. And my sense is that could be dragged out for weeks, months, years,” adding that “I got a feeling the American people won’t see [the $175 billion in illegally collected funds].”

READ MORE: Trump Wants to Keep Billions in Tariffs Unlawfully Collected — Here’s His Playbook

“On Friday, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, you said ‘the American people won’t see’ the billions of dollars in tariff revenue unlawfully collected from them. Then, on Sunday, you doubled down, dismissing questions about refunds as ‘bad framing,’ repeatedly insisting the matter is “up to the lower court” rather than the administration, and refusing to answer whether small business owners who bore the cost of these illegal tariffs would ever get their money back,” the letter read.

The letter lays out four demands for the Trump administration. First, for Customs and Border Protection to start processing automatic refunds for tariffs and duties, and establish a refund process with priority given to small businesses. The administration must also provide a timeline of no longer than 90 days to start the refund process, and “cease any efforts to delay, condition, or deny refunds pending further litigation.”

“The Supreme Court’s ruling was not, as you characterized it, “a loss for the American people.” It was a reaffirmation that no president is above the law. The true loss for the American people would be an administration that collected over $130 billion in illegal taxes and then refused — with a smile and a shrug — to give it back. If this administration does not act, Congress will,” the letter concludes.

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Two anonymous trans Kansans and the ACLU filed suit against their state on Friday over a new transphobic law. The law takes trans Kansans’ driver’s licenses away if they have the correct gender designation, and also allows them to be sued by random citizens if they use the correct bathroom.

Earlier this week, many trans Kansans received a letter from the government warning them that, effective immediately, their driver’s licenses were null and void. The news was first reported by Erin In The Morning. Those who drive with an invalidated license could be hit with six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The suit was filed in Kansas’ Seventh District Court in Douglas County by two anonymous transgender men, identified as Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe. It takes aim at Kansas State Senate Bill 244, an anti-trans bill blocking people from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates and other legal documents like driver’s licenses. Trans Kansans are directed to surrender their license in exchange for one that has a gender marker aligned with the one assigned to them at birth. The bill made no allowance for a grace period for the change.

READ MORE: Blue States Join Forces to Sue Health Department Over Anti-Trans Declaration

In addition, it allows anyone who sees a trans person in the bathroom matching their gender identity to sue that trans person—even if the bathroom is in a private business. The law was originally vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, but the veto was overturned, according to Erin In The Morning.

The lawsuit says that the bill forces people to either face lawsuits for using the correct bathroom or out themselves to potential harassment and violence. Even then, the lawsuit alleges, they “may still be sued by individuals who are ‘aggrieved’ because they think they’re in the wrong restroom.”

The plaintiffs are both from Lawrence, Kansas and say they work in government-owned buildings and are not publicly out as transgender. Doe is an administrative associate at the University of Kansas, while Moe is a Ph.D student at the University. Doe has to drive a university vehicle as part of his job, and also has to fly periodically as part of his duties.

“Presenting identification that does not align with his gender identity would subject him to heightened scrutiny, potential harassment, and invasive questioning during security screenings. Such encounters would be humiliating and degrading and would forcibly disclose his transgender status without his consent,” the lawsuit says.

“Prior to updating his license, Daniel experienced precisely this type of mistreatment when a bartender questioned the authenticity of his identification and subjected him to prolonged interrogation. Since his driver’s license has reflected his male gender marker, he has not experienced similar incidents,” it continues.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to overturn the law on constitutional grounds. They’re also seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to keep the law from going into effect while the lawsuit is heard.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he was “very seriously considering ending” support for Scouting America—formerly the Boy Scouts of America—unless it made a number of changes meant to conform to President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI executive order.

Hegseth posted a video to X on Friday morning, announcing that “The Department of War has officially put Scouting America on notice.”

“It’s time to get back to basics—and DoW is leading the charge,” the tweet read.

The Department of War has officially put Scouting America on notice.

It’s time to get back to basics — and DoW is leading the charge. pic.twitter.com/EnY9mvaFLX

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) February 27, 2026

In the attached six-minute video, Hegseth decries changes by Scouting America over the last 14 years.

READ MORE: Conservatives Go Crazy Over Boy Scouts Name Change Now That Girls Will Be Included

“After 2012 however, the Boy Scouts lost their way, and a once great organization became gravely wounded. Diversity, equity and inclusion—DEI—crept in. The name was changed to Scouting America. Girls were accepted. The focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions,” Hegseth said.

“Scouting became an organization that no longer supported and celebrated boys. They even welcomed the destructive myth of gender fluidity and transgenderism to infiltrate their membership,” he continued.

He then said that though he “was very seriously considering ending our support of Scouting altogether,” he convinced the leadership to change its policies to bring the organization in line with Trump’s Executive Order 14173. That executive order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” was signed on the first day of Trump’s second term and orders government contractors to stop “promoting ‘diversity’.”

Hegseth said Scouting America agreed to replace its Citizenship in Society merit badge with a Military Service merit badge. In order to get the Citizenship badge, Scouts research someone who “demonstrated positive leadership while making an ethical decision.” Hegseth characterized the badge differently, however:

“The quote, Citizen in Society merit badge, that encouraged scouts to explore diversity, equity, inclusion and identity—they always mask it under a name that sounds good, it seems something else—and then asks those scouts to engage in activism on those topics.”

However, looking at the workbook for the badge, activism is not involved. Instead, scouts must answer a number of essay questions, many of which involve hypothetical situations, and require scouts to interview an “individual in your community, school, and/or Scouting who has had a significant positive impact in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion,” or “research a historical figure who meets these criteria, and discuss that person with your counselor.”

Scouting America is not an official government program. Though it became a federally chartered corporation in 1916, like Little League Baseball and the Red Cross, this is primarily an honorary designation. Scouting America functions independently and Congress has no additional control over the organization.

In November, Hegseth threatened to cut ties with Scouting America, according to The Hill. Hegseth’s proposal was unpopular, even among Republicans, according to NPR, leading him to backtrack.

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