The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a significant legal blow Friday morning, ruling that President Donald Trump’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are unconstitutional. It's a setback for sure, but if you think this fight is over, you haven't been paying attention.
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion that halted Trump's broad tariff authority. "The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope," Chief Justice Roberts wrote, adding that Trump "must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it."
Trump's reaction was predictably unfiltered. A source outside the administration said he "called it a disgrace, and then he went on with the remarks." Classic Trump. Take the punch, call it crooked, keep moving.
Constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley appeared on Fox News' America's Newsroom and acknowledged the ruling was "a blow to the administration." But he was quick to pump the brakes on anyone celebrating too hard on the left. He praised Trump's legal team, saying they did "a terrific job" and "could not have argued the case better." The problem, Turley explained, wasn't the lawyering — it was the constitutional architecture itself.
Related: Mark Levin Blasts Supreme Court’s ‘Very Messy and Problematic' Tariff Ruling
The court's core concern, according to Turley, runs deeper than this one case.
“What people have to keep in mind is that this sort of sounds like a revenue fight between the branches, but it goes to the core of the balance between the branches. I think what the Supreme Court was so concerned about is that we have a very strong executive in this country,” Turley said. “It has gotten to be more and more powerful and the key ability of Congress to check and balance those powers is the power of the purse, the control of revenue. And I think these justices were concerned that they were looking at a slippery slope here that would allow the president to really make inroads into that authority.”
As such, the majority concluded that the emergency tariff program crossed a line, treating what amounts to a massive tax program as something the executive branch could impose unilaterally.
But here's where it gets interesting for the administration's next move.
But Turley indicated that Friday's decision doesn't strip Trump of every tariff tool he has. "The administration has other tools in its toolbox," he said. "It can actually impose tariffs under other statutes, so this fight is hardly over for the administration when it comes to tariffs." He elaborated that "the president obviously cannot rely on the regulation of importation for this type of sweeping tariff program," but left substantial room open, noting there is "still a lot of question" around his use of existing legal authority. And then he issued a warning the left would be wise to absorb: "The night is hardly over for the administration."
A setback. Not a defeat. There's a difference — and the Trump White House knows it.
