Stephen Dinan | July 1, 2025

(The Washington Times) — The Department of Homeland Security has collected more than $106 billion in tariff revenue since President Trump took office, and most of that — $81.5 billion — is directly tied to the new levies the president has imposed on worldwide goods.

The department announced the eye-popping totals late Monday, saying it’s evidence of Mr. Trump’s America First trade policy in action.

Mr. Trump had teased the number last week in a press conference with reporters.

“They have so much money coming in,” he said.

He recounted a call he said he got from a senior official who had reported the government’s financial ledger was “a mess” and the numbers weren’t making sense because revenue was so high.

The president said he told the official to check the tariffs column.

“He calls me back two hours later and says, ‘You’re right,’” Mr. Trump recalled.

He said the gains go beyond the bottom-line budget number.

“We have companies coming in, factories coming in,” he said.

Mr. Trump has slapped tariffs on most imported goods, demanding better trade terms with other nations.

If Homeland Security’s numbers are correct, it would represent a massive increase in June.

The Congressional Budget Office, Capitol Hill’s chief scorekeeper, said as of the end of May tariff income was $30 billion this fiscal year compared to last year. The Treasury Department, in its own customs duties data through May, said the government had collected $81.4 billion this fiscal year, or about $32 billion ahead of last year’s tally at this point.

Economists had warned that the tariffs would spur inflation and plunge the country into recession.

Neither prediction has been borne out so far.

Mr. Trump has also, for now, fended off legal challenges, having won permission from a federal appeals court to keep his tariffs in place while the case is argued in the courts.