After decimating countless industries with his ultra-aggressive and wide-ranging tariff plan, President Donald Trump’s expensive duties have been ruled illegal by the now-majority conservative Supreme Court.
According to reports by AP and CNN, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that Trump’s sweeping tariffs exceeded the powers he has. The decision–which centered on the “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country–came from Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote for the court that the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes (and that does include tariffs, too).
“The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Roberts wrote in the decision. “The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.”
