The decision does not affect all of Trump's tariffs but invalidates those implemented using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
What to know
The Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency. The decision does not affect all of Trump’s tariffs, but invalidates those implemented using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling that the Trump administration had asserted "extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope,” but had pointed to no statute that said the IEEPA could apply to tariffs.
The ruling blocks Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs and those the president imposed on Canada, China and Mexico in what he said was an effort to stop the flow of illegal drugs.
Democrats in Congress, as well as small business and retail groups, applauded the decision, saying the tariffs had impinged on lawmakers' constitutional authority and hurt U.S. consumers. Some major U.S. trading partners were more muted, however, saying they were reviewing the decision and emphasizing the need for stability in international trade.
GOP Rep. Don Bacon calls the ruling 'common sense'
Bacon, one of the six House Republicans who recently voted to undo U.S. tariffs on Canada, praised the Supreme Court's ruling.
“The Constitution’s checks and balances still works. Article One gives tariff authority to Congress. This was a common sense and straight forward ruling by the Supreme Court," he said in a statement.
Bacon, who's not running for re-election said he feels "vindicated" because he's been making the same argument over the last year.
"In the future, Congress should defend its authorities and not just rely on Supreme Court," he said. "Besides the Constitutional concerns I had on the Administration’s broad-based tariffs, I also do not think tariffs are smart economic policy. Broad-based tariffs are bad economics.”
Of course we all knew it was coming after this SCOTUS decision. It's tantrum time!
Trump says Gorsuch, Barrett decision to rule against tariffs ’embarrassment to their families’
President Trump said Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barret and Neil Gorsuch’s decision to rule against his administration’s tariff policies is “an embarrassment to their families.”
“I don’t want to say whether I regret nominating them. I think their decision was terrible,” Trump told reporters at the White House press briefing.
“I think it’s an embarrassment to their families,” he said.
Barret and Gorsuch, who were both nominated to the high court by Trump during his first administration, broke with the court’s conservatives to rule against the tariffs.
“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think. It’s a small movement,” Trump said, referring to the majority of justices who struck his tariff policy down.
When asked by The Hill at the briefing whether the justices who ruled against the tariffs were still invited to the State of the Union, Trump said “barely.”
“They are barely invited. Three of them are invited. To be honest, I could care less if they come or not,” he said.
Trump heaped praise on conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh for ruling in favor of the tariffs.
“I’d like to thank and congratulate Justices Alito and Kavanaugh for their strength and wisdom and love of our country,” he said, adding that he was “very proud” of the justices.
The president went on to say that Kavanaugh, who he nominated during his first administration, has seen his stock go up.
Meanwhile, Trump downplayed the possibility of Thomas and Alito retiring during his remarks.
“They’re great justices. That’s all I can say. And I hope they be around a long time. I hope they say healthy. They’re great people.”
If you wish to listen to a rambling bunch of nonsense on many subjects that have nothing to do with tariffs and trump patting himself on the back, here is the entire statement. It begins at the 27 minute 30 second mark.....................
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
"Trump’s response to the Supreme Court tariff ruling is not confusion. It is a carefully honed tactic: never admit defeat, never concede authority, never show weakness. He casts a legal rebuke as a victory, claiming the decision “made things more powerful and crystal clear,” when in fact it restricted his unilateral power. This is classic Trump — a method learned from Roy Cohn, the ruthless attorney who taught him that perception is power and that acknowledging failure is surrender.
In The Art of the Deal, Trump writes, “It’s always good to be honest with yourself. But it’s also important to present strength at all times. Weakness is the enemy. Never, ever give an inch.” Every setback, every court decision, every rebuke is reframed as preparation, clarification, or opportunity. He weaponizes denial, turning reality into narrative and narrative into leverage. The legal limit becomes a claimed affirmation of authority; failure is dressed as triumph.
The danger is systemic. By never admitting defeat, he trains his audience to accept rhetoric as reality, undermining trust in institutions designed to constrain executive power. Reality bends to performance, and the repetition of contradiction reshapes perception. The Supreme Court’s check on his authority is reframed in his narrative as a mandate to do more — a stark lesson in how the denial of failure can be used to consolidate power, even while contradicting law and reason."
Jay Madison
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
