WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday he will keep tariffs in place by using other legal authorities after the Supreme Court ruled he exceeded his power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
At a White House news conference, Trump sharply criticized the six justices who formed the majority that concluded IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. He named Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, calling their opposition to his tariff policy “a disgrace to our nation” and “unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.”
The court’s decision drew dissents from Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh; the statement says Justice Samuel Alito and Thomas joined Kavanaugh’s dissent. Trump appointed Barrett, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh during his first term.
Despite the ruling, Trump said the administration will pursue alternative statutory routes to keep tariffs in effect. “There are methods, practices, statutes and authorities … that are even stronger than the IEEPA tariffs available to me as president of the United States,” he said, adding that Congress has recognized some of those authorities.
He said he planned to sign an order to impose “a 10% global tariff under Section 122, over and above our normal tariffs already being charged.” He also declined to commit to returning tens of billions of dollars collected under the IEEPA-based tariffs, arguing the Supreme Court’s opinion did not address refunds and suggesting that point could be litigated further.
Trump said he will not seek new legislation from Congress to authorize tariffs. “I don’t have to. I have the right to do tariffs,” he said, asserting the authority has been approved by Congress even if the approach will be “a little more complicated” moving forward.
Trump is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, an event typically attended by Supreme Court justices. He downplayed their attendance, saying he “couldn’t care less” whether they come and suggesting they were only barely invited, though he acknowledged he cannot bar justices from attending either chamber.
This article was originally published by States Newsroom and is republished under a Creative Commons license.
