I see people on social media claiming that justices on the Supreme Court were asking very skeptical questions this morning about President Trump’s authority to issue tariffs. And they use this as the prime example, from Eric Daughtery:
BREAKING: In a worrying development, the U.S. Supreme Court appears VERY skeptical of President Trump’s emergency tariff powers, setting the stage for striking them down.
GORSUCH: “Congress as a practical matter can’t get this power back once it’s handed it over. The president is a one way rachet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s elected representatives.”
Gorsuch also suggested Trump’s tariffs could be a slippery slope for a president to “ignore” Congress on other things.
KAVANAUGH (paraphrase): Why has no president before invoked tariffs under the IEEPA?
BARRETT: Reciprocal tariffs didn’t make sense for some countries.
“And so is it your contention that every country needed to be tariffed because of threats to the defense and industrial base? I mean, Spain? France? I mean, I could see it with some countries but explain to me why, as many countries, needed to be subject to the reciprocal tariff policy, as are.”
Unbelievable.
Okay, they do seem somewhat skeptical. But on the flip side, there’s a video of Gorsuch questioning the attorney against President Trump’s tariffs, and it sounds to me like Gorsuch is conceding that the plain text of IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) does allow for Trump to issue tariffs.
Watch below:
Nobody knows how the justices will rule. It could be that they rule against Trump using emergency powers to begin with in a time of peace. But if they concede that he can use emergency powers, then it seems based on Gorsuch here that it’s pretty clear that tariffs are permissible.