For decades, politicians have sold tariffs as a tonic for the working class. In reality, one particular group seems to benefit more than any other from trade wars: Washington influence peddlers.

The United States collected some $288.5 billion in tariff revenue last year, up from $98.3 billion in 2024, thanks to a barrage of new levies imposed by the Trump administration. These tariffs, designed by elite lawyers in D.C. and implemented with highly technical and specialized language, presented a unique opportunity for lobbyists to charge large corporations exorbitant rates to seek relief and other carveouts. And they did very well for themselves.

The 20 largest lobbying firms reported $824 million in revenue last year, up from $595 million during the final year of the Biden administration.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, lobbying contracts that mentioned tariffs were worth $10.6 million, up from $1.8 million a year earlier, according to the Advancing American Freedom Foundation.

No wonder the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case challenging President Donald Trump’s tariffs are small businesses, not large ones. Big companies can afford to hire attorneys to understand the complex rules and lobbyists to try to minimize the pain. Small businesses get stuck with enormous tax bills.

While lobbyists cashed in, Americans felt the pain. Poorer people tend to spend more of their income on goods that are subject to tariffs than higher earners. Tariffs redistribute corporate profits from less politically connected industries to more politically connected industries, not from the rich to the poor.

Sometimes the tariffs are sold as a national security imperative, but that hasn’t been the case over the past year. Taxing imports from Canada is not a way to reduce drug overdoses. Imposing tariffs on countries that already eliminated their trade barriers doesn’t help to eliminate trade barriers.

Defenders of import taxes sometimes argue that lobbying is unfortunate but worthwhile given all the jobs that are saved or protected. Yet the government bailed out farmers because they were harmed by tariffs. And the number of total manufacturing jobs has fallen by 72,000 since last April. Car sales are down, and there are 19,000 fewer car manufacturing jobs in the country.

All this is why 6 in 10 Americans oppose Trump’s tariffs, according to the latest polling, and approval for them has consistently lagged other parts of his agenda, even among Republican voters. The people’s elected representatives in Congress wouldn’t pass new tariffs, which is why the president is imposing them by executive order and claiming a nonexistent emergency.

Draining the swamp is hard, but tariffs are an unforced error that make an already difficult task impossible.

— The Washington Post

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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2026. There are 316 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 18, 2001, veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia. (Hanssen later pleaded guilty to espionage and attempted espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; he died in prison in 2023.)

Also on this date:

In 1885, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the U.S.

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In 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).

In 1983, 13 people were shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle’s Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. (Two men were convicted of the killings and were sentenced to life in prison; a third was found guilty of robbery and assault and served 28 years in prison before being deported to Hong Kong in 2014.)

In 1994, in the final race of his Olympic career at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen broke the world record in the 1,000 meters, winning the gold medal.

In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500; he was 49.

In 2003, an arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed nearly 200 lives.

In 2013, some $42 million (40 million euros) worth of diamonds and other gems were stolen at Brussels’ international airport by eight gunmen who cut through a perimeter fence, drove onto the tarmac and took the gemstones as they were being transferred from an armored car to a plane bound for Switzerland.

In 2021, the NASA rover Perseverance successfully landed on Mars, where it continues to explore the planet’s surface.

Today’s Birthdays:

Artist-singer Yoko Ono is 93.
Restaurateur-TV host Prue Leith (TV: “The Great British Baking Show”) is 86.
Singer Irma Thomas is 85.
Musician Dennis DeYoung is 79.
Actor Cybill Shepherd is 76.
Actor John Travolta is 72.
TV personality Vanna White is 69.
Actor Matt Dillon is 62.
Rapper-music executive Dr. Dre is 61.
Actor Molly Ringwald is 58.
Actor Ike Barinholtz is 49.
Football Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney is 46.
Musician Regina Spektor is 46.
Actor Kylie Rogers is 22.

After an poor-shooting and turnover-filled first half for both teams on Tuesday, Oregon went on a 9-0 run to take a 30-29 lead on the Gophers with 13 minutes left at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

Minnesota was even more shorthanded than usual this year — down to a rotation of six total players and only one big man — so it looked like a familiar script was going to play out yet again: the U scrapping in the second half, but just not having enough horsepower to get the job done for a Big Ten victory.

At that point, Gophers coach Niko Medved called a timeout, saying it was time to dig in and generate some energy plays within a specific offensive scheme. “We ran a little set, a middle ball screen,” Medved explained on the KFAN postgame show.

That resulted first in a Grayson Grove roll to the rim, feed from Isaac Asuma and a Grove dunk. They ran it again and Asuma drove and laid it in. They dialed it up a third straight time, and Bobby Durkin nailed a 3-pointer. That 7-0 spurt resulted in Ducks coach Dana Altman being the one forced to call a timeout and try to curb the momentum.

Minnesota, however, never trailed again in a 61-44 road win.

Minnesota (12-14, 5-10 Big Ten) had lost nine of 10 games, but cobbled together its second road win of the season. Oregon (9-17, 2-13) have lost 11 of 12 games, with a home win over Penn State on Saturday.

Minnesota was down a third starter, with power forward-turned-center Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (foot) sidelined for a second straight game on the West Coast road trip. He was first ruled out for the 69-57 loss to Washington over the weekend.

That meant Grove was the U’s only post player, and the Alexandria native stepped up against Ducks’ 7-footer Nate Bittle with a career high 13 points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds.

On the defensive end, Medved continued to mix in zone defenses, a scheme he has relied on more after point guard Chansey Willis Jr. and center Robert Vaihola were lost for the season back in November.

“Once we kind of swung back at them and retook the lead, I thought we kind of broke their spirit a little bit,” Medved said on the radio. “We made it hard for them to score. Our zone and what we were doing was really effective.”

Bittle had some success in the paint, but Oregon continued to shoot woefully, making only 1 of 8 threes (12%) in the second half.

Isaac Asuma led the U with 15 points, with three 3-pointers; Cade Tyson chipped in 12, including five free throws; and Bobby Durkin added 11 with three treys.

The Gophers and Ducks were both ice cold in the first half, with the U holding an unsightly 22-13 lead. Both shooting 30% from the field. Minnesota was 21% from 3-point range, while Oregon shot 8%.

“It looked like we set basketball back about 40 years there in the first eight, nine minutes or whatever,” Medved said. “But that is kind of how we had to play. We needed to muck it up. We needed to guard, kind of get the tempo where we wanted it.”

Medved wants to play with a faster tempo, but given his lack of personnel, his team is one of the slowest in the Big Ten. It just another way he’s trying to find ways to win in his first year at the helm.

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While the weather has warmed up, it’s that time of the year in Minnesota — time for high school boys hockey playoffs.

While some of the preliminary round games in Class A got underway earlier, the bulk of section tournament action started on Tuesday across the state.

The action was as big in the East metro as anywhere as the Class 2A, Section 3 quarterfinals were played on Tuesday, with a minor upset occurring in Eagan. Fifth-seed Eastview managed to pull out a 3-2 road win against rival and No. 4-seed Eagan in overtime. The Lightning will face top-seed Rosemount in the section semifinals on Friday at Bloomington Ice Garden at 5 p.m.

Rosemount advanced with a 5-0 win against No. 8-seed Apple Valley/Burnsville. Cade Sherman, Connor Schubert, Peter DeGroot and Jack Lonke all scored in the second period for the Irish, while Sam Schmucker capped the scoring in the third. Drew Sherman made 18 saves for the shutout for Rosemount. Miles Johnson stopped 41 shots in goal for Apple Valley/Burnsville.

On the other side of the bracket, second-seed St. Thomas Academy beat No. 7-seed Two Rivers/St. Croix Lutheran 3-0. Cole Braunshausen, Bennett Knutson and Luca Pedri scored for the Cadets. Christopher Sohovich made 15 saves for St. Thomas, while Tyler Priest had 40 saves for Two Rivers/St. Croix Lutheran.

The Cadets will face No. 2-seed Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday in Bloomington at 8 p.m. The Raiders beat No. 6 Park 6-4 on Tuesday with Maverick Timmons scoring twice for Cretin-Derham Hall. Soren Saumweber, Aiden Diethert, Brody Ruprecht and Drew Sinna also had goals for the Raiders, who got 29 saves from Ernie Drury. Gavin Sand scored twice for Park, which also got goals from Malachi McMorrow and Nick Bailey. Henry Voss made 17 saves in goal.

Here’s the results of Tuesday’s other section tournament games:

Class 2A, Section 7 quarterfinals

Top-seed Grand Rapids beat No. 8 Northern Edge 11-0 to set up a semifinal matchup with No. 4 Forest Lake, which beat No. 5 Duluth Marshall 5-2. Keegan Corey scored twice in the first for Forest Lake, which also got a first-period tally from Hunter Longen. Duluth Marshall counted with two straight goals to open the third before the Rangers’ Nate Peterson and Logan Vickery closed the scoring. Zachary Schnabel had 34 saves for Forest Lake.

Saturday’s semifinal will be at Duluth’s Amsoil Arena at 12:05 p.m.

Second-seed Rock Ridge beat No. 7 Cambridge-Isanti 7-1, while No. 3 Duluth East beat No. 6 Duluth Denfeld 8-2. Rock Ridge and Duluth East will meet in the other semifinal on Saturday at Amsoil Arena at 2:05 p.m.

Class 2A, Section 8 quarterfinals

Another top seed advanced as No. 1 Moorhead beat No. 8 Alexandria 10-0, while No. 5 Bemidji pulled off a minor upset against No. 4 St. Cloud 5-2. The two winners will play Saturday in Moorhead.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 St. Michael-Albertville beat No. 7 Brainerd 6-0 and Tristan Kriech had a first-period hat trick as No. 3 Elk River/Zimmerman beat No. 6 Roseau 10-1. Elk River/Zimmerman will face the Knights at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the St. Michael-Albertville arena.

Class A, Section 4, Round 1

In a preliminary game in Section 4, No. 9-seed St. Paul beat No. 8 Osseo 3-1. St. Paul will face top-seed Mahtomedi on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

In another first-round game, No. 7 Simley beat 10th-seed St. Paul Academy/Summit 7-2. Noah Schwab scored three times for the victors, with Dawson Schriefer, Riley Anich, Aiden Fischbach and Eli Schwab also scoring goals. Owen Unglesbee made 35 saves. Ben Hanson and Will Choi scored for SPA/Summit, while Jake McCrady had 31 saves. Simley will face No. 2 Chisago Lakes on Friday at 5 p.m at Aldrich Arena.

Class A, Section 5 quarterfinals

Top-seed St. Cloud Cathedral beat No. 8 Princeton 11-3, while No. 4 Sauk Rapids/Rice held off No. 5 Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 6-5. Cathedral and Sauk Rapids/Rice will play Saturday at 1 p.m. at the St. Cloud MAC. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Monticello beat No. 7 Becker/Big Lake 7-1 and No. 3 Pine City outlasted No. 6 River Lakes 7-6 in double overtime. The two winners play Saturday in Monticello at 1 p.m.

Class A, Section 6 quarterfinals

Sartell, the section’s top-seed, beat No. 8 Morris-Benson 6-1. No. 4 Little Falls beat No. 5 Prairie Center 5-2. The winners play Saturday at 4 p.m. at the St. Cloud MAC. That game will precede a 7 p.m. Saturday game between No. 2 Northern Lakes, which beat No. 7 Breckenridge/Wahpeton 6-0, and No. 6 Willmar, who upset third-seed Fergus Falls 4-2.

Class A, Section 7 quarterfinals

Top-seed Hibbing/Chisholm/VCA beat eight-seed Ely 14-1. Jax Hardy and Wynn Giswold scored as No. 4 Proctor beat No. 5 International Falls 2-0. Hibbing/Chishold/VA will face Proctor at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at Amsoil.

Second-seed Hermantown looked strong with a 14-0 win against No. 7 North Shore. Third-seed Cloquet-Esko-Carlton beat No. 6 Greenway 6-0. Hermantown and CEC will play in Saturday’s late game at Amsoil at 8:05 p.m.

Class A, Section 8 quarterfinals

Top-seed Warroad beat No. 8 Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 16-0 to set up a meeting with No. 4 Thief River Falls, which beat No. 5 Crookston 6-4. No. 2-seed East Grand Forks beat No. 7 Red Lake 8-2, while No. 3 Detroit Lakes beat No. 6 Bagley/Fosston 4-0.

Warroad will face Thief River Falls on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., with East Grand Gorks and Detroit Lakes playing at 3:30 p.m.

Other Class A games

Section 1, Round 1: La Crescent/Hokah 3, Faribault 2.

Section 2, Round 1: Waconia 7, Westonka/Watertown-Mayer 3; Providence Academy 5, Southwest Christian 1; Minneapolis 6, Hutchinson 1.

Section 3, Round 1: Windom 3, Redwood Valley 2; Fairmont 7, Worthington 1.

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