It was worse than even I envisioned. I figured the Supreme Court vote overriding President Trump’s willy-nilly tariff authority would be 6-4, with Amy Coney Barrett being the swing vote.
Alas, it was a decisive 6-3 majority that did in the Trumpster’s view of economics, which can be summed up as: “Do unto your neighbor as they would do unto you – but worse.”
So much for Trump’s comic-book idea that tariffs could replace the income tax. Trump had relied on the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) to sling tariffs at nations that didn’t respect him enough, but SCOTUS would have none of it.
“Had Congress intended to convey the distinct and extraordinary power to impose tariffs, it would have done so expressly,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
The majority opinion was silent on whether the administration would have to refund tariffs it had collected under Trump’s “Independence Day” restructuring of global trade with the U.S.
It was this silence that drove Justice Brett Kavanaugh to dissent, saying the decision would result in a “mess” and cause “significant consequences for the U.S. Treasury.” Joining Kavanaugh in dissent were Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Before this ruling, the Supreme Court had pretty much rubber-stamped Trump’s initiatives in his second term. Now it’s back to the drawing board for Trump, with his tail between his presidential legs.
