The Supreme Court has been embarrassingly supportive of Donald Trump and his many legally questionable policies since conservative justices took the bench, so to say that this news is a surprise is an understatement.
According to AP News, SCOTUS voted 6-3 against Trump’s widely panned tariffs that raised the prices on many items that Americans rely on in their daily lives. Let him tell it, these additional taxes would not affect prices and would be paid for by the countries that the tariffs were levied against, none of that was or is currently true. SCOTUS ruled that the tariffs imposed via the emergency powers law were in violation of the constitution. Also, the “reciprocal tariffs” Trump levied against damn near every country that the U.S. business with were deemed unconstitutional. The power to tax is strictly a Congressional power that is out of the President’s purview.
It should come as no surprise that the most conservative and obsequious justices, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, make up the three dissenting votes.
The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote. Trump praised his 63-page dissent as “genius.”
However, Justice John Roberts, a much more reasonable judge, wrote in his opinion:
“The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,”
Trump’s reaction to not getting his way resembles that of an infant who was told, “no more snacks before dinner”.
Via CBS News:
“The Supreme Court’s 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’s right for our country,” he said.
The Penn Wharton budge model calculates that the United States has taken in $175 billion in illegal import taxes that now have to be refunded. How that will happen has yet to be determined. It’s an issue that will likely end up in court for a long time.
However, the legal logistics haven’t stopped Illinois Governor JB Pritzker from demanding that American citizens, specifically the residents of his state, be first in line to get their money back.
