Supreme Court Rules Trump’s Tariffs Unlawful Under IEEPA
Episode description
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 (2/24/2026)
- Ilya Somin, “Not Everything Is an Emergency,” The Dispatch (1/31/2025)
- “Are Trump’s Tariffs Lawful?,” We the People (11/06/2025)
- Biden v. Nebraska (2023)
- Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc. (2001)
- Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981)
- Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1953)
- United States v. Yoshida International, Inc. (CCPA, 1975)
- United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936)
- Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935)
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