Vance Critiques Supreme Court for Tariff Ruling

Vice President J.D. Vance has described the Supreme Court as “lawless” after its 6-3 decision struck down global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

In a post on X, Vance indicated that the ruling significantly complicates the president’s ability to safeguard American industries and supply chains. He argued that the court has fundamentally misinterpreted Congress’s intentions regarding the president’s powers over imports.

“Today, the Supreme Court ruled that although it gave the president the power to ‘regulate imports,’ Congress never actually meant to allow that,” he stated, calling the ruling a “tort, plain and simple.” He also emphasized that Trump would continue to leverage other tariff powers to uphold American labor and support his administration’s trade goals.

As reported by Breitbart, this ruling represents the first instance where a high court has directly invalidated one of Trump’s policies during his second term. While courts have generally allowed Trump substantial leeway in exercising executive authority, the majority opinion asserted that Trump exceeded his bounds in enforcing significant tariffs without explicit congressional approval.

President Trump had enacted tariffs in two phases. Initially, in February 2025, he placed a 25% tariff on many imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on products from China, citing fentanyl trafficking. Later, in April, he labeled the day “Emancipation Day” and imposed a standard 10% tariff on imports from nearly all nations, along with higher tariffs on nations deemed trade violators.

Trump characterized the fentanyl overdose crisis and annual trade deficit as a national emergency, which he used to justify the new trade policies under the IEEPA, a law dating back to 1977 aimed at enabling presidents to address international crises.

The ruling was upheld by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, while Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Breitbart White House correspondent Nick Gilbertson noted that Judge Kavanaugh hinted at the possibility of future tariffs. Kavanaugh remarked that, despite his disagreement with the court’s decision, it might not significantly hamper the president’s ability to impose tariffs in the future. He pointed out that other federal laws also grant the president tariff authority, which could validate most of the tariffs questioned in this case. Essentially, Kavanaugh believed that the court found a technicality regarding the legal framing of the tariffs rather than disallowing them outright.

Following the ruling, President Trump held a press conference at the White House where he announced plans to sign an order instituting a 10% tariff worldwide, based on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. He affirmed that all current national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 tariffs would remain in effect.

“Effective immediately, I’m implementing a 10% global tariff on top of the existing tariffs under Section 122. I will also be initiating a Section 301 investigation, as well as several others to protect our nation from unfair trade practices,” he announced.