Last week was not a good week for President Trump on the Supreme Court front.
He was hoping the court would give him a big win on tariffs, but most of the tariffs Trump had imposed were struck down by the court.
However, Trump did identify a “new hero” on the court in Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
A president can impose some tariffs, but most of the sweeping tariffs Trump imposed would usually require congressional approval.
Trump claimed he had the authority to impose these tariffs via the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), but the court ruled 6-3 that it was not the case.
Chief Justice John Roberts penned the majority ruling, saying, "The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope.”
He concluded, "We hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.”
There were a lot of Republicans, including some of Trump’s most loyal supporters, who viewed the tariffs as just another tax on the American people, and they did not support them.
So, when the court overruled the majority of Trump’s tariffs, there was a collective sigh of relief in the party.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who has opposed the tariffs from the outset, stated, “In defense of our Republic, the Supreme Court struck down using emergency powers to enact taxes.”
Trump then defied the court by announcing new 10% tariffs across the board, followed by an announcement that he was going to raise the tariffs to 15%. That will surely be challenged and litigated almost immediately.
All three of Trump’s justices have come under fire from MAGA, and with Justices Gorsuch and Barrett (as well as Roberts) crossing the aisle on this ruling, Trump made it a point to applaud Justice Kavanaugh, who voted to allow Trump to keep the tariffs in place.
Trump stated, "My new hero is United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and, of course, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that they want to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Kavanaugh’s dissent ripped the majority opinion, in part, stating, "As they interpret the statute, the President could, for example, block all imports from China but cannot order even a $1 tariff on goods imported from China. That approach does not make much sense."
Trump will continue to press this issue, but the fact of the matter is that the court just took away one of Trump’s favorite tools to get other nations to bend to his will. It’s a crushing blow to his economic agenda, so we will just have to wait and see if the GOP comes to his aid to try to pass legislation that will put these tariffs back in place, or if they simply allow the status quo, which will no doubt infuriate Trump.
