SCOTUS issued the order. Now let's see SCOTUS enforce it.
Trump said his administration would be imposing a 10% global tariff rate over and above existing tariffs, hours after the court's ruling Friday.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called the Supreme Court justices who struck down his sweeping tariffs a "disgrace to the nation" during a White House press briefing on Friday, hours after the nation's top court released its decision.
"The Supreme Court ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what is right for our country," Trump said.
The president also announced during the briefing that his administration would now add a 10% global tariff over and above current tariffs. He said he would sign an executive order imposing the new tariffs after the press conference, 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.
Six of the court's nine justices ruled that the president does not have the authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the Trump administration argued gave them the ability to do so.
The majority found that the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes, which include tariffs. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
The White House also debuted new, moodier lighting in the briefing room right before the president’s appearance. Softer blue lights were lit behind the podium. It was not clear whether the change was coincidental with the president’s appearance.
The Republican president has been vocal about the case, calling it one of the most important in U.S. history and saying a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country. But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that are typically aligned with the GOP.
Polling has found tariffs aren't broadly popular with the public, amid wider voter concern about affordability.
Numerous small businesses and states that challenged the tariffs argued that Trump illegally used emergency powers to set import taxes on goods from nearly every country in the world, putting their businesses at risk of bankruptcy.
Justices on the nation's highest court made the decision months after they agreed to take up an unusually quick hearing on the case at the request of the Trump administration.
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