Supreme Court Rules Trump’s Tariffs Unlawful Under IEEPA

About this episode

The episode discusses the Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's tariffs and its implications for presidential emergency powers.

On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA, does not authorize President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, and the consolidated case, the Court held that the statute does not grant the President the power to impose tariffs under a declaration of economic emergency. In this episode, we explore what the Court held, why the Justices disagreed about the reasoning, and what this decision might tell us about the future of presidential emergency power. To help us explore these questions are two leading Court watchers and constitutional experts, Zachary Shemtob of SCOTUSblog and Ilya Somin of the George Mason University. Julie Silverbrook, vice president of civic education of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026) “Supreme Court strikes down tariffs,” SCOTUSblog (2/20/2026) Ilya Somin, “How the Supreme Court Spared America,” The Atlantic (2/21/2026) Ilya Somin, “The Supreme Court Spurns a Presidential Power Grab,” The Dispatch (2/23/2026) Ilya Somin, “Trump’s new tariffs are another dangerous presidential power grab,” Boston Globe…

People in this episode

Host: Julie Silverbrook

Guests: Zachary Shemtob, Ilya Somin

Topics covered

• Supreme Court
• tariffs
• presidential power
• IEEPA
• constitutional law
• economic emergency

Keywords

• Supreme Court
• tariffs
• IEEPA
• presidential power
• constitutional law
• Zachary Shemtob
• Ilya Somin

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Constitution Center, SCOTUSblog, George Mason University

Books & works: How the Supreme Court Spared America, The Supreme Court Spurns a Presidential Power Grab, Trump’s new tariffs are another dangerous presidential power grab, Not Everything Is an Emergency, Are Trump’s Tariffs Lawful?

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