Key events
Donald Trump says supreme court ruling on tariffs is ‘deeply disappointing’, chides ‘certain members’ of the court
Donald Trump is now speaking to reporters in the White House press briefing room. He kicked off his remarks by saying that the supreme court’s ruling today, invalidating many of his tariffs, is “deeply disappointing”.
He chided “certain members” of the bench – namely the six justices who said that the president’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify his global tariffs was illegal.
“I’d like to thank and congratulate justices Thomas, Alito and Kavanaugh for their strength and wisdom and love of our country … very proud of those justices,” he said of the jurists who dissented.
Chuck Grassley – the senator who chairs the influential judiciary committee – noted in a statement today that he was “one of the only sitting members of Congress” during the passage of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Today, the supreme court said that Donald Trump’s use of IEEPA to justify his global tariffs was illegal.
Grassley called Trump “a very skilled negotiator” following the court’s ruling earlier today. “I want him to continue to be successful in expanding market access,” the Iowa lawmaker added. “I urge the Trump administration to keep negotiating, while also working with Congress to secure longer-term enforcement measures.”
Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said that “no one can deny” that Donald Trump’s use of sweeping global tariffs “has brought in billions of dollars and created immense leverage for America’s trade strategy”. The top GOP lawmaker in the House said that Congress and the Trump White House would determine the “best path forward in the coming weeks”.
Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, also welcomed the decision, slamming Trump’s tariffs as “reckless, unconstitutional and costly” and “an abuse of executive power that unlawfully taxed millions of Americans”.
She said on X:
Trump’s sweeping tariffs were reckless, unconstitutional and costly for America’s working families. Today, the Supreme Court rightfully struck them down, upholding the Constitution and rejecting an abuse of executive power that unlawfully taxed millions of Americans. The Court was clear. Tariffs cannot be enacted without the explicit authorization of Congress.
Another Republican senator, Susan Collins, of Maine, has welcomed the supreme court’s ruling. She said on X:
Today’s Supreme Court ruling reaffirms that only Congress has the constitutional authority to impose tariffs, and the President can only do so under a clear and limited delegation of authority from Congress. My votes against the President unilaterally imposing tariffs on Canada reflected the same conclusion as well as my belief that these tariffs often harm Maine’s economy and consumers.
Trump to hold press briefing following supreme court tariff rebuke
Donald Trump is due to hold a press briefing at 12.45pm ET in what will be his first public remarks since the supreme court ruled against the legality of his sweeping global tariffs.
The only response we’ve had from the president so far is a comment he reportedly made at this morning’s White House breakfast meeting with US governors. According to CNN he called the decision a “disgrace”.
We’ll bring you all the key lines from the briefing once it gets under way.
Republican senator John Curtis, from Utah, welcomed the supreme court’s ruling and, while not calling explicitly for refunds for consumers and small businesses, he also raises the question of “what happens to the revenue already collected”.
In a post on X he said:
Today’s ruling affirms, despite all the noise of the moment, that the Founders’ system of checks and balances remains strong nearly 250 years later. Several questions remain unanswered, including what happens to the revenue already collected and how the Administration may use alternative authorities to impose tariffs. Looking ahead, it is critical that we provide the clarity and predictability businesses need.
California governor Gavin Newsom has also responded on X:
Even Donald Trump’s Supreme Court agrees: His tax on the American people is illegal. A huge win for families and small businesses across the country who have been suffering under this man’s ego.
In a subsequent post, he added:
Issue an immediate refund to all Americans for your illegal tax. Now.
However, as Shrai noted earlier, Elizabeth Warren has made the point that there is “no legal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid”. She said:
Giant corporations with their armies of lawyers and lobbyists can sue for tariff refunds, then just pocket the money for themselves. It’s one more example of how the game is rigged.
Any refunds from the federal government should end up in the pockets of the millions of Americans and small businesses that were illegally cheated out of their hard-earned money by Donald Trump.
Democratic senator Tim Kaine has not minced his words in his response to the supreme court’s ruling that Trump illegally used executive power when he imposed his sweeping global tariffs.
In a post on X, the Virginia senator wrote:
We told Trump his tariffs were illegal, dumb, and harmful to families, farms, and small businesses. Americans don’t want tariffs, they want lower costs. Go back to square 1 and focus on US – not overseas invasions!
Dave Townsend, a lead attorney at Dorsey & Whitney who represents the US and foreign clients in trade litigation and disputes, said that it was “hard to overstate” the scale of the IEEPA tariffs as “they touch virtually every industry in one way or another”.
“Never in US history have tariffs been imposed by the executive branch so broadly. And likewise never in US history has a court invalidated tariffs on such a grand scale,” he added.
On the key question of refunds for those subjected to the now-invalidated IEEPA tariffs, Townsend noted that there are more than 2,000 lawsuits have already been brought seeking refunds, “but this is a small fraction” of US importers that may be entitled to them. A reminder that while that litigation was on pause during the supreme court’s deliberation, legal experts say we could now see a “groundswell” of claims following today’s ruling.
“The United States has said in litigation that more than 300,000 US importers have paid IEEPA tariffs. There are various ways that the refunds could be issued, and the supreme court did not say how the process should work,” Townsend said.
Mike Pence welcomes supreme court ruling as ‘a sigh of relief’ for families and businesses
Mike Pence, the former vice-president during Donald Trump’s first administration, welcomed the supreme court’s decision that the president’s global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are illegal.
“Our Supreme Court has reaffirmed that the Constitution grants Congress – not the President – the power to tax,” Pence said in a statement. “With this decision, American families and businesses can breathe a sigh of relief.”
Senator Rand Paul – a Republican who often bucks his party in Congress – welcomed the supreme court’s ruling today.
“The Supreme Court makes plain what should have been obvious: ‘The power to impose tariffs is ‘very clearly a branch of the power to tax’,” he wrote on social media, referring to the court’s decision that Trump could not use the IEEPA and side-step Congress to implement the sweeping global tariffs.
Stephan Becker at Pillsbury notes that the big question is what happens next to the tariffs that are invalidated by the supreme court’s ruling today.
“The administration will be keen to maintain the special bilateral agreements it previously struck with countries such as the UK in exchange for reducing tariffs,” Becker said.
He noted that the “broad speculation” is that Donald Trump would try to use the “previously obscure” Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which lets the President impose tariffs up to 15% for up to 150 days to address balance of payments problems. These levies would, however, require Congress’s approval to extend beyond the deadline.
“This would allow the administration to quickly impose replacement tariffs while it takes the required procedural steps to impose tariffs under the other statutes,” Becker added.
‘A win for the wallets of every American consumer’: Schumer praises supreme court tariffs ruling
The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, has said the supreme court’s ruling that many of the president’s global tariffs are illegal is “a win for the wallets of every American consumer”.
The administration’s “chaotic and illegal tariff tax made life more expensive and our economy more unstable”, Schumer said. “Families paid more. Small businesses and farmers got squeezed. Markets swung wildly.”
Joining the chorus of lawmakers heralding the court’s decision today, Schumer called on Donald Trump to “end this reckless trade war for good and finally give families and small businesses the relief they deserve”.
Lisa O’Carroll
Reporting on international trade
Donald Trump is unlikely to abandon his tariff strategy on account of the supreme court ruling, say legal experts.
Basil Woodd-Walker, disputes and investigations partner at global law firm Simmons & Simmon said he can just switch focus from the blanket “liberation day” reciprocal tariffs he opposed on dozens of countries to sectoral tariffs.
“Most commentators had expected the supreme court to strike down Trump’s IEEPA tariffs. But President Trump has made it clear that he is not going to abandon his international trade policy, and will find other ways to implement it,” he said. “The US administration may pivot to other tariff regimes or trade barriers to replace the lost income.”
