The Supreme Court dealt a rare blow to President Donald Trump’s economic agenda Friday, ruling that the broad tariffs he has imposed over the last year overstepped his authority.
Under the Constitution, Congress is the branch of government with the power to impose taxes, including tariffs. Last year, Trump declared two national emergencies — one related to drug trafficking and the other concerning trade deficits — arguing that he had the authority to impose tariffs on countries like Canada, Mexico and China under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA.)
Thus began a long and chaotic trade war as Trump tacked on tariffs on countries across the globe, declaring a “Liberation Day” last April that he promised would punish those “ripping off” the country and result in American economic prosperity. “This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said at the time.
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court disagreed that Trump had the power to do any of this. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion, while Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas dissented.
“IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” the ruling reads. “The government thus concedes that the President enjoys no inherent authority to impose tariffs during peacetime.”
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“It is also telling that in IEEPA’s half century of existence, no president has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope,” the ruling continues. “That ‘lack of historical precedent,’ coupled with the breadth of authority that the President now claims, suggests that the tariffs extend beyond the president’s ‘legitimate reach.'”
CNN: The Supreme Court rules that President Trump’s emergency tariffs are illegal. pic.twitter.com/KuJHJ9UTiC
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 20, 2026
“Don’t congratulate John Roberts or the Supreme Court,” wrote legal journalist Cristian Farias, who has covered the tariffs for the New Yorker. “Congratulate Rick Woldenberg, the Chicago-area leader of Learning Resources, an educational toy company that had the courage to sue the president of the United States to save his family business. As well as everyone else who stepped up.”
