SCOTUS Appears Skeptical of Trump's Tariff Powers

Key Supreme Court conservatives seemed skeptical Wednesday that President Trump has the power to unilaterally impose far-reaching tariffs, potentially putting a key part of his agenda at risk. The administration is trying to defend the tariffs central to Trump's economic agenda after lower courts ruled the emergency law he invoked doesn't give him near-limitless power to set and change duties on imports. The Constitution says Congress has the power to levy tariffs. But the Trump administration argues that in emergency situations the president can regulate importation—and that includes tariffs.

• Justice Amy Coney Barrett grilled the government, represented by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, on that point, the AP reports. "Has there ever been another instance in which a statute has used that language to confer the power?" she asked.

• Justice Neil Gorsuch also questioned whether Trump's position would hand too much congressional power to the president. "Is the constitutional assignment of the taxing power to Congress, the power to reach into the pockets of the American people, just different?" he asked. "And it's been different since the founding?"
• Gorsuch asked if a president could use the same powers to curb climate change, the Washington Post reports. "Could the president impose a 50% tariff on gas-powered cars and auto parts to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat from abroad of climate change?" he asked. Sauer acknowledged it was "very likely" the power could be used that way, but added that "this administration would say that's a hoax."
• Questions from Chief Justice John Roberts also suggested he might not be convinced. With the court's three liberal-leaning justices seeming deeply dubious, the tariffs challengers could win by swaying two conservatives.
• A decision in the case could take weeks or months. Trump has called the case one of the most important in the country's history and said a ruling against him would be catastrophic for the economy.

• While some conservative justices were skeptical, others echoed the administration's position that the president's emergency power to shut down trade includes lesser moves, like tariffs, the New York Times reports. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said not giving the president that power would mean there was an "odd donut hole in the statute." "It's not a donut hole," said Benjamin Gutman, the solicitor general of Oregon. "It's a different kind of pastry."
• A key question was whether the tariffs violate the court's "major questions" doctrine, which "holds that executive branch must have explicit legal authority from Congress to carry out policies that have major economic or political consequences," per the Post. The court cited the doctrine when it struck down several Biden administration policies, including student loan forgiveness. "The justification is being used for the power to impose tariffs on any product, from any country, for any amount, for any length of time," Roberts said of Trump's use of the law to impose wide-ranging tariffs, per the Hill. "I'm not suggesting it's not there, but it does seem like that's major authority."