- Supreme Court limits Trump’s ability to unilaterally impose tariffs, ruling it exceeds his legal authority
- Businesses affected by Trump’s tariffs may receive refunds, potentially totaling up to $175 billion
- Trump criticizes Supreme Court ruling, vows to continue implementing tariffs despite lack of Congressional approval
The current occupant of the White House, Donald Trump, took a major L after the Supreme Court ruled that his tariff abuse is nothing more than an illegal tax on Americans.
The Supreme Court has finally said nah to Donald Trump, putting a much-needed check on him as he continues to abuse his power.
In a divided 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled Friday that Orange Mussolini did not have the legal authority to use emergency powers to implement tariffs to stop illegal drugs and offset trade deficits.
In the decision, the Supreme Court sent the cases back to the lower courts, where Trump has been largely unsuccessful, essentially ruling that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give him the power to abuse tariffs.
Chief Justice Roberts Penned The Opinion
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion with Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, who were both appointed by Trump, plus Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson joining him. The usual suspects, Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Brett M. Kavanaugh, sided with Trump.
Roberts, Gorsuch, Barrett, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson all agreed that Trump could not rely on IEEPA to enforce tariffs of unlimited amount and duration, on any product from any country, during peacetime.
Roberts continued by noting that only Congress has the power of the purse while noting that exceptions are restricted by “explicit terms and subject to strict limits.”
“Against that backdrop of clear and limited delegations, the Government reads IEEPA to give the President power to unilaterally impose unbounded tariffs and change them at will,” Roberts wrote. “That view would represent a transformative expansion of the President’s authority over tariff policy. It is also telling that in IEEPA’s half-century of existence, no President has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope. That ‘lack of historical precedent,’ coupled with ‘the breadth of authority’ that the President now claims, suggests that the tariffs extend beyond the President’s ‘legitimate reach.’”
Will Donald Trump Refund Businesses Affected By The Tariffs
It’s unclear what the ruling will mean for businesses that had to pay “reciprocal” tariffs as Trump stupidly raised and lowered rates, while using his heada** negotiation tactics with the country’s biggest trading partners.
Analysts, back in November, claimed that the Supreme Court ruling against Trump could force the government to issue $1 billion in refunds. Reuters reports that economists claim that the refund could balloon to $175 billion, which could be at risk of having to be refunded.”
Donald Trump has since responded, claiming that he was “ashamed” of the Supreme Court, wildly accusing those who ruled against him of being “swayed by foreign interests” while praising the three justices who sided with him.
He also claimed that he would continue to implement tariffs and that he didn’t need “Congress’s approval” to do so.
Social media has been clowning Trump following his big L in the Supreme Court; you can see those reactions below.
