WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump paid a price for going it alone on tariffs — with the Supreme Court on Friday delivering a rare rebuke by ruling he lacked the power to declare an economic emergency and launch sweeping new taxes on imports.
Trump had made tariffs the bedrock of his economic pitch to voters going into the midterm elections, even describing tariffs as his “favorite word in the dictionary.” He promised that factories would relocate from overseas and bring jobs with them, and he warned that losing the tariffs could plunge the U.S. into a deep recession.
But Friday’s ruling will most likely prolong political and economic chaos over international trade through the election year.
Trump described the ruling as “deeply disappointing” and “ridiculous,” adding that he was “absolutely ashamed” of the six Supreme Court justices who ruled against him “for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country.”
“They’re just being fools and lap dogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats,” Trump said of the high court majority in an afternoon press briefing, referring to “Republicans in Name Only.” “They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.”
He vowed to bypass Congress and impose new tariffs on his own under existing law.
Trump learned of the decision after being handed a note during a private meeting with several governors in the morning, according to two people with knowledge of the president’s reaction who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Another person, who was briefed on the conversation, disclosed that Trump said he has “to do something about these courts.”
The meeting with the governors ended shortly after Trump learned of the decision.
Tariffs have been politically unpopular
Republican strategist Doug Heye said it was immediately clear that the president “is not going to be happy” about the decision.
“We’re starting to hear about how this is a massive blow, a massive repudiation,” he said.
However, Heye said Trump will try to find another way to pursue his trade agenda.
“Are they going to be able to figure out how to use this as an opportunity or not?” he asked. “There are too many questions.”
The White House plans to use alternative laws to preserve his tariffs, but those policies will only prolong the debate and keep alive an issue that is largely unpopular with voters.
About 6 in 10 Americans said Trump had gone too far on imposing new tariffs on other countries, according to an AP-NORC poll from January.
Even more worrisome for a president elected on the promise of fixing Americans’ concerns about affordability, 76% said in a poll conducted last April that Trump’s tariff policies would increase the cost of consumer goods in the U.S.
Trump used tariffs to reshape Republican trade agenda
Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs had left many Republican lawmakers uneasy, publicly and privately, forcing them to defend what were essentially tax increases on the American public and businesses.
