WASHINGTON — A U.S. federal appeals court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's push to delay legal proceedings linked to refunds of his tariffs, allowing the battle to proceed in a lower court. The Supreme Court last month delivered a stinging rebuke of Trump's signature economic policy by striking down many of his global tariffs — opening the door to a complicated legal fight as companies sue for their money back. The tariffs ruled illegal by the high court had generated over $130 billion for the U.S. government as of late-2025. The Trump administration had argued on Friday for a delay of up to four months before litigation on refunds is brought up again before the U.S. Court of International Trade. But the demand was denied on Monday in an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A group of small businesses whose case is before the court said in an earlier filing on Monday that the Trump administration's call for a months-long delay was "plainly unreasonable." "This Court should not accept the government's invitation to grant forms of relief the Supreme Cour