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The Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mr. Kjetil Ree.)
In a 6-3 decision Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) did not authorize broad tariff actions without explicit congressional delegation.
In response, President Trump swiftly moved to maintain high tariffs by invoking alternative legal authorities — a new global tariff of up to 15 percent under the Trade Act of 1974, the maximum permitted under that statute (after initially setting it at 10 percent).
According to reports, US Customs and Border Protection ceased collection of tariffs based on the decision, but continues to collect under the new framework.
The administration has defended the move as essential to leveraging American trade interests, while European and other foreign interests lamented the President’s America-first trade policies.
Administration Trade officials say core policy goals remain the same despite the legal pivot.
Popular response was a mixed of curiosity and outrage — with the outrage seeing to come mostly from Internet personalities who, by their own admissions, did not read the 170-page decision.
I did read it — it took me most of Friday. As I often say, the goal of the Trump era is to put the branches of the Federal government back in their constitutional boxes. Within that framing, this decision is a good one.
The goal is not for Trump to win.
The goal is for The People to win.
Trump told us that’s the goal on January 20, 2017:
“What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.”
Having a rabid response to an opinion you haven’t read makes you controlled, not in control. Nonetheless, that’s where we are and, I have to be honest, it’s disappointing that so many Americans — truthers even! — are still being led around by their emotions from media headlines.
From Justice Gorsuch’s concurrence:
“That case [Chevron] established a presumption that was nearly the opposite of the major questions doctrine: When Congress failed to speak clearly, courts put a thumb on the scale in favor of delegated power.
Given that development, the longstanding principles animating the major questions doctrine may have receded from view for a time. After all, the two doctrines often applied in the same places and counseled OPPOSITE results.
But with Chevron gone, so is the conflict.
This Court’s application of the major questions doctrine is not invention so much as RETURN TO FORM.” (Emphasis added.)
If the goal is to put the branches of government back in their constitutional boxes, then it’s a good thing that the Justices argued back and forth for 170 pages about executive vs. legislative vs. judicial authorities.
It’s also a good thing that there is such a strong emphasis in this opinion on Representation. The power to tax resides in the legislative branch because the legislative branch is the representative one (ideologically, not actually, obviously). If the power must be representative, then elections are the most important part of this discussion. Friday’s decision underscores that fact.
Do you want a future President Newsom or Jeffries or Whitmer to define their own constitutional boundaries? No? Then you must hold the line when President Trump tries to set that precedent for them.
The President is enabling the People to, as Justice Gorsuch said, return to constitutional form. Why are we fighting him?
Final thought: Certain pundits are declaring that President Trump is enraged by his SCOTUS picks — and, to be fair, he did roast them and claim that they embarrassed their families with this decision. He certainly appears mad at two of his picks…
However, as I said on Friday, the most interesting constitutional conversations at SCOTUS are happening among President Trump’s three picks. Their debates are in the record, and will be analyzed for generations.
The goal is not for Trump to win.
The goal is for The People to win.
A Republic. If we can keep it.
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