On Wednesday, President Donald Trump criticized two of his Supreme Court appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — for joining other justices in the groundbreaking 6-3 ruling that deemed his signature reciprocal tariffs illegal, expressing that it disgusted him and is “detrimental to our nation.”
Trump mentioned, “Two of the individuals who voted for that were appointed by me,” at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington, D.C., without specifying the two justices.
Trump criticized Gorsuch and Barrett, along with the four other justices in the majority, for failing to exempt the U.S. government from repaying up to $165 billion in tariffs charged to American importers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Trump vented, “The Supreme Court, that’s correct, of the United States cost our nation — all they needed was one sentence — hundreds of billions of dollars, and they showed no concern,” Trump expressed angrily. “They showed no concern.”
Referring to Gorsuch and Barrett, Trump remarked, “And they disturb me.”
“They disturb me because they are harmful to our nation,” Trump added.
Trump’s other appointee to the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, dissented alongside two fellow conservatives, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
The majority, in its ruling in the case known as Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, stated on Feb. 20 that a president lacks the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs on imports from most nations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, contrary to Trump’s assertions.
“Based on two words separated by 16 others in Section 1702(a)(1)(B) of IEEPA — ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’ — the President claims the independent power to levy tariffs on imports from any nation, of any product, at any rate, for any duration,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority ruling.
“Those terms cannot bear such significance,” wrote Roberts, who, like Gorsuch and Barrett, is a conservative.
Since the decision, the Trump administration has sought to replace the revenue the U.S. government would have gained if the IEEPA tariffs had been upheld.
On Feb. 20, Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose global tariffs of 10% on imports, but these tariffs last for only 150 days unless Congress grants an extension.
Earlier this month, the office of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer initiated trade investigations into nearly 80 nations and economies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including China, Japan, India, Mexico, and the European Union.
Section 301 permits the U.S. to impose tariffs on imports from countries identified as engaging in unfair trading practices.
