President Donald Trump on Friday slammed the Supreme Court justices who ruled against his ability to impose tariffs as “a disgrace to our nation,” “fools” and “lap dogs.”
In a remarkable address from the White House briefing room a few hours after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision came down, Trump, flanked by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, called the ruling “deeply disappointing” and said he was “absolutely ashamed” of the justices who ruled against him.
He also alleged, without evidence, that the decision was the product of outside interference.
“It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think,” he said.
When asked later if he had evidence of the “foreign interference” he alleged, Trump replied, “You’re gonna find that.”
The briefing was the latest example of Trump’s insistence that a historically nonpartisan institution should function in his interest. He has demanded similar loyalty from the Justice Department, whose headquarters now features a large banner of the president, and the Federal Reserve, whose current chair, Jerome Powell, has been a frequent target of Trump’s for refusing to cut interest rates.
The Supreme Court’s tariff decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, marked a major defeat for the president, who has only occasionally been checked by the Supreme Court. More often than not, the justices have empowered his agenda, including by granting him broad legal immunity.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the majority. Trump appointed Gorsuch and Barrett to the high court in his first term. He called both “an embarrassment to their families” on Friday, but would not say whether he regretted nominating them.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito dissented.
Trump thanked the dissenting justices “for their strength and wisdom, and love of our country, which is right now, very proud of those justices.”
Of Kavanaugh, the only one of the dissenting justices he appointed, Trump said, “I’m so proud of him.”
Of Kavanaugh, the only one of the dissenting justices he appointed, Trump said, “I’m so proud of him.”
Trump said there are “methods, practices, statutes and authorities” that will allow him to nonetheless impose tariffs. Indeed, even though the court struck down the president’s use of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, there are other legal authorities that allow him to put in place tariffs on other countries. They are known by the sections in the laws that authorize them.
One is Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows a president to impose a “temporary import surcharge” to “deal with large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits” for 150 days. Trump said he would use that statute to impose a global 10% tariff starting in three days.
Those tariffs will come in addition to some already in place on industries like steel and aluminum under Section 232, which covers national security, and some on China for unfair trading practices dating back to the first Trump administration, which fall under Section 301.
“We have tariffs,” Trump insisted, “we just have them in a different way.”
Kavanaugh anticipated this in his dissent, writing, “The Court’s decision might not prevent Presidents from imposing most if not all of these same sorts of tariffs under other statutory authorities.”
Following the ruling, several Republicans slammed the decision, while a few broke ranks to voice their agreement with the high court.
Vice President JD Vance called the ruling “lawlessness from the court, plain and simple.”
“And its only effect will be to make it harder for the president to protect American industries and supply chain resiliency,” he added.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., adopted more muted tones, doubling down on their support for tariffs without openly criticizing the Supreme Court.
Thune defended tariffs as “an important and effective tool to address unfair trade practices and help level the playing field with foreign competitors.”
Johnson said, “No one can deny that the President’s use of tariffs has brought in billions of dollars and created immense leverage for America’s trade strategy and for securing … trade agreements with countries that had been taking advantage of American workers for decade.”
But some in the GOP bucked Trump’s grip on Congress to voice their support for the decision.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., called it “a common-sense and straightforward ruling,” noting that the Constitution “gives tariff authority to Congress.”
“I feel vindicated as I’ve been saying this for the last 12 months,” he said. “In the future, Congress should defend its own authorities and not rely on the Supreme Court.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the ruling “makes plain what should have been obvious,” pointing to Congress’s constitutional control over taxation, and “will also prevent a future President such as [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.] from using emergency powers to enact socialism.”
Democrats, meanwhile, celebrated the ruling as a rare check on Trump’s vast power.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the decision “a victory for the wallets of every American consumer.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said it was “another crushing defeat for the wannabe King.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said, “The Supreme Court got this one right.”
Some Democrats suggested that the administration should pay refunds to Americans. A Yale Budget Lab analysis estimated that the tariffs will cost the average U.S. household $1,700 a year.
“There is no legal mechanism for consumers and many small businesses to recoup the money they have already paid,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement. “Any refunds from the federal government should end up in the pockets of the millions of Americans and small businesses that were illegally cheated out of their hard-earned money by Donald Trump.”
Addressing the president, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said, “Every dollar your administration unlawfully took needs to be immediately refunded — with interest.”
In response to a question from MS NOW about whether he plans to honor refunds from the tariff costs for companies that file them, Trump replied, “It’s not discussed. We’ll end up being in court for the next five years.”
Fallon Gallagher contributed reporting.
