President Trump said Friday he has a contingency strategy ready after the Supreme Court blocked his use of emergency powers to impose sweeping global tariffs.
“President Trump commented on the Supreme Court ruling striking down his tariffs while inside the White House breakfast with governors this morning, calling it a ‘disgrace,’ I’m told,” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins wrote on X. “He told those gathered that he has a backup plan.”
The high court ruled 6–3 that Trump could not rely on emergency legislation to justify broad tariff actions affecting nearly every country.
Trump was rightfully incensed when he heard of the ruling, but Fox News quickly shot down a CNN claim that he went on an “expletive-ridden rant.”
A source outside the administration told the network, “An aide came in, handed him a note, he called it a disgrace, and then he went on with the remarks.”
Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as “conservative” Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, joined the court’s liberal wing in the majority opinion.
“There is no exception to the major questions doctrine for emergency statutes. Nor does the fact that tariffs implicate foreign affairs render the doctrine inapplicable. The Framers gave ‘Congress alone’ the power to impose tariffs during peacetime,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
“And the foreign affairs implications of tariffs do not make it any more likely that Congress would relinquish its tariff power through vague language, or without careful limits.”
The ruling marks a significant legal setback for a centerpiece of Trump’s economic agenda, which leaned heavily on aggressive tariff policy to reshape trade relationships and pressure foreign governments.
Administration officials have signaled for months that alternatives were under consideration. In January, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett outlined fallback authorities that could be deployed quickly if the court rejected the president’s approach.
“We’ve got a very, very detailed backup plan. We’re confident that if we were to lose this case, that we can get all of the president’s policies in place almost immediately with alternative authorities,” Hassett said on Fox News.
Hassett later told Fox Business that Section 301 powers were among the mechanisms being examined. Reports have also pointed to possible use of Section 122 of the Trade Act, which permits the president to impose certain duties unilaterally, though with tighter limits than those Trump initially pursued.
Any durable fix may ultimately require congressional action. Lawmakers could move to grant the president clearer tariff authority, but that path faces political hurdles. Republicans hold only a narrow House majority, complicating efforts to push through contentious trade legislation.
For now, the White House insists the administration is prepared to pivot, framing the court’s decision not as the end of Trump’s tariff push but as a legal detour.
