The president escalated his sore-loser response to the Supreme Court’s tariff strike down by further raising his new worldwide tariff.
President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social on Saturday that he increased Friday’s 10 percent “global tariff” to 15 percent, following the Supreme Court’s ruling against his signature economic policy.
“Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level," he posted.
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again - GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” the president wrote.
The Daily Beast reached out to the White House for more details.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that he exceeded his authority when he installed tariffs based on a “national emergency.” Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and John Roberts Jr. ruled that Trump overstepped his authority. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Chief Justice John Roberts said in his 21-page opinion that the Trump administration had attempted a “‘transformative expansion’ of the president’s authority over tariff policy” in an attempt to justify its tariffs, as demonstrated by the exercise of that authority in this case — over the broader economy as well.”
Since the ruling, Trump has been absolutely furious. He gave a rage-filled press conference in which he said the justices who ruled against him are “lap dogs,” a “disgrace to our nation,” and “disloyal to the Constitution.”
“I’m ashamed of certain members of the Court—absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump said.
He also claimed, without providing any evidence, that the court had “been swayed by foreign interests."
He called conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Connet Barrett, both of whom he nominated to the high court in his first term, an “embarrassment to their families.”
It is unclear what will happen to the roughly $175 billion in tariff revenue the federal government has said it collected since Trump enacted his sweeping tariffs last spring.
In his dissenting opinion, conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that the federal government “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others.”
Several states and businesses have already demanded that the government issue refunds.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said that the high court’s decision means the federal government owes each American household about $2,000.
A letter from Pritzker’s campaign office has asked for the return of the $8.6 billion to the state of Illinois.
“This letter and the attached invoice stand as an official notice that compensation is owed to the people of Illinois,” the letter reads. “And if you do not comply, we will pursue further action.”
