Solicitor general Sauer is getting pushed now by liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Jackson particularly took umbrage with Sauer’s argument that the Trump is able to enact tariffs to “regulate foreign powers”, despite the fact that Congress passed the IEEPA to limit the president’s authority.
“My point is that Congress enacted this legislation with the intent of preventing the president from having unlimited powers in this area,” Jackson said. “And you’re asking us to now interpret that statute consistent with an understanding that Congress wanted to allow the president to do pretty much whatever he wanted in this area.”
Before the US solicitor general finished taking questions, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson probed him a final time: “What is a little concerning to me is that your argument suggests that we should see the word ‘imposed’, the phrase ‘impose tariffs’… We don’t see that word. Instead, you take ‘regulate’ and say that must mean that.”
It’s worth noting that even conservative justices sound doubtful of the strength of the Trump administration’s position on the legality of its tariffs. “The vehicle is the imposition of taxes on Americans, and that has always been a core power of Congress,” said Chief Justice John Roberts.
After D John Sauer argued that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, enabled Trump to impose sweeping tariffs, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said: “One problem you have is that presidents since IEEPA have not done this.”
If you’re listening to the arguments, you will have heard the term “major questions doctrine” come up a few times. This is the legal principle that means a federal agency cannot create new, significant economic or political policies unless Congress uses plain language to authorize them.
Because the IEEPA doesn’t include specific terms like “tariffs” or “duties”, justices today have taken issue with the Trump administration’s argument today. Chief Justice Roberts questioned why the solicitor general doesn’t think the doctrine applies in this case.
Justice Gorsuch pushed Sauer even further, warning that the tariffs in this case could be “a one-way ratchet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s elected representatives”.
Interestingly, Sauer said today that the tariffs “are regulatory”.
“They are not revenue-raising tariffs, the fact that they raise revenue is only incidental,” he added.
Trump, however, has touted the levies as a huge boon for the American economy, including offsetting the national debt, and revitalizing domestic manufacturing.
Justices started to hear oral arguments a short while ago on tariffs at the heart of the Donald Trump’s policy platform, a crucial legal test of his controversial economic strategy – and power.
So far, some justices have expressed skepticism over the law – known as the IEEPA – that the president used to slap steep duties on almost every US trading partner.
D John Sauer, the solicitor general defending the Trump administration in the case, has argued that these duties amount to “regulatory tariffs, not revenue-raising tariffs”. He said: “We don’t contend that what’s being exercised here is the power to tax.”
“I just don’t understand this argument,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “You want to say tariffs are not taxes, but that’s exactly what they are.”
Solicitor general Sauer is getting pushed now by liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Jackson particularly took umbrage with Sauer’s argument that the Trump is able to enact tariffs to “regulate foreign powers”, despite the fact that Congress passed the IEEPA to limit the president’s authority.
“My point is that Congress enacted this legislation with the intent of preventing the president from having unlimited powers in this area,” Jackson said. “And you’re asking us to now interpret that statute consistent with an understanding that Congress wanted to allow the president to do pretty much whatever he wanted in this area.”
The top congressional Democrats, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, have written to the president to demand a meeting as the government shutdown breaks records and enters day 36.
“We write to demand a bipartisan meeting of legislative leaders to end the GOP shutdown of the federal government and decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis,” Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and Jeffries, the House minority leader, wrote. “Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and anyplace.”
The supreme court has started to hear oral arguments for and against the legality of most of Donald Trump’s tariffs. “One would expect Congress to confer major powers on the president,” said D. John Sauer, solicitor general.
A reminder that the Trump administration cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law which in some circumstances grants the president authority to regulate or prohibit international transactions during a national emergency, as he slapped steep duties on imports into the US.
The supreme court – controlled by a rightwing supermajority that was crafted by Trump – will review whether the IEEPA grants the president the authority to levy a tariff, a word not mentioned in the law. Congress is granted sole authority under the constitution to levy taxes.
The court has until the end of its term, in July 2026, to issue a ruling on the case.
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, and Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, both extended congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on winning the New York mayoral election. Notably, both lawmakers represent the Empire state.
“The American people are fed up with the high cost of living, broken promises, Republican attacks on healthcare, GOP corruption and the unprecedented attack on our way of life,” Jeffries said, while also congratulating Democratic victors in other races, like the gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey.
Schumer, who never formally endorsed Mamdani and kept quiet about who he voted for in the election, said that the 34-year-old’s win was a “well-earned” and “historic victory”.
“We have worked together on a number of vital issues – like delivering historic debt relief for taxi drivers. I look forward to building on that partnership to keep NYC strong, fair, more affordable and thriving,” he added.
The Senate minority leader also called the wider sweep of Democratic successes across the country a “repudiation of the Trump agenda”.
In a short while, we’ll bring you the latest from the supreme court, where the justices will hear arguments in a case that challenges the legality of the president’s sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries.
The question at the heart of the case is whether the Trump administration’s tariffs violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law which allows the president authority to “regulate or prohibit international transactions during a national emergency”.
The arguments, according to the docket, are scheduled to last 80 minutes. But they are likely to last much longer, as is often the case in many of these closely watched hearings.
As he hosted Republican senators at the White House, Trump offered some initial thoughts on the Democratic victories across the country on election night.
“Last night, it was not expected to be a victory, it was very Democrat areas. But I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” he said. “I’m not sure it was good for anybody.”
He added: “We had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot, and we’re going to talk about that.”
Donald Trump has continued his relentless criticism of the filibuster – the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate on legislation and bring a bill to the floor for a vote.
In recent days, the president has posted up a storm on social media, urging Republican lawmakers to abolish the procedural maneuver (which they have described as an important legislative safeguard) on the grounds that Democrats would do the same, and would use it to advance their own agenda if they were given the opportunity. “They’re going to pack the court, they’re going to make DC a state, and they’re going to make Puerto Rico a state,” Trump said.
Despite explicit reticence from GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, the president pushed the virtues of a filibuster-free Congress today.
“We have to get the country going. We will pass legislation at levels you’ve never seen before, and it will be impossible to beat us,” he said. “They’ll [Democrats] most likely never attain power, because we will have passed every single thing that you can imagine.”
At a breakfast with Republican senators at the White House, Trump continued to spread baseless claims that mail-in ballots are “automatically corrupt”.
“We should pass no mail in voting. We should pass all the things that we want to pass make our election secure and safe,” Trump said.
Voting experts have routinely pushed back against the president’s claims that this type of voting is less secure than in-person voting. Trump, himself, has voted by mail in the recent past.
Today marks day 36 of the ongoing government shutdown – now the longest on record.
Lawmakers remain at an impasse, with few signs of letting up. On Tuesday, the Senate failed – for the 14th time – to pass a stopgap funding bill to reopen the government.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans continue to blame Democrats for stopping business as usual. The president has also urged top GOP lawmakers to abolish the filibuster, despite their explicit reluctance.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
