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‘Major Blow’: Supreme Court Rejects Legal Basis for Trump’s Tariffs

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In a 6-3 ruling. the Roberts Supreme Court has rejected the legal basis for President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, imposed on “Liberation Day” in April 2025.

“The Supreme Court has struck down President Trump’s tariff authority, saying his claim of emergency authority to issue sweeping tariffs to America’s trading partners was unlawful,” Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports.

NBC News called it a “major blow” to President Trump.

During oral arguments, justices appeared skeptical of the Trump arguments. Chief Justice John Roberts said that the tariffs were “an imposition of taxes on Americans and that has always been the core power of Congress,” as Axios reported.

President Trump has repeatedly argued that his reciprocal tariffs — which studies show are almost entirely paid by American consumers and businesses — were necessary for national security. The administration relied on an obscure provision of U.S. trade law that allows a president to impose tariffs without congressional approval if imports are deemed a threat to national security. Critics, however, argued that the statute was never intended to justify sweeping, permanent global tariffs.

Trump’s public statements repeatedly broadened his rationale. At the beginning of the year, declaring the Supreme Court’s impending decision would be “their most important (ever!) Decision,” he claimed the tariffs “have rescued our Economy and National Security.”

Last month, Trump warned that “if the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!”

As recently as Thursday, Trump lambasted the high court for taking, as he put it, “forever,” to release its decision.

READ MORE: ‘Republicans Have to Lose’: Far Right Extremist Leader Puts Trump on Notice

“And to think I have to be, in the United States Supreme Court for many, many months, waiting for a decision on tariffs — without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now,” Trump said.

“I’ve been waiting forever. Forever. And the language is clear that I have the right to do it as president. I have the right to put tariffs on for national security purposes, countries that have been ripping us off.”

Just weeks ago, Trump told Fox Business that he had had an “emergency call from, I believe, the prime minister of Switzerland, and she was very aggressive. Nice, but very aggressive.”

“Again and again and again. I couldn’t get her off the phone,” the president continued, as The Hill reported. “So [the tariffs were] at 30 percent, and I didn’t really like the way she talked to us, and so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39 percent.”

The president has also suggested that there is so much money coming into the Treasury from tariffs that he would be sending tariff “dividend” checks to Americans — a claim he appeared to have forgotten about last month when asked by a reporter.

Trump has also claimed that if the Court struck down his tariffs, the U.S. would not be in a position to provide refunds, which could run between $100 billion and $200 billion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, stated that providing refunds would be possible.

It has been estimated that tariffs are costing the average American family between $1,300 and nearly $5,000 annually.

Economist Justin Wolfers, when asked about the effectiveness of Trump’s tariffs, told CBC News, “If the trade deficit this year is bigger than it was last year, and this year we have high tariffs and a trade war and last year we didn’t, I guess it doesn’t require a lot of fancy statistics to infer that Trump’s tariffs didn’t help the trade deficit.”

On Friday, he wrote, “We had this big lousy trade war, and we’ve got nothing to show for it.”

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board on Thursday wrote, “If your tariff policy is so unpopular that you have to bully the central bank into not talking about it, maybe it’s time for a new policy.”

READ MORE: ‘Insulting’: Fox News Panel Implodes as Host Clashes With Liberal Guest Over Voter ID

 

Image via Reuters 

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Democrats’ Dissatisfaction With Democrats in Congress Has ‘Never Been Higher’: CNN Analyst

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The Democratic base is split on where they want the party to go — left, center, or stay put — but the majority can agree on their dissatisfaction with the party’s direction, says CNN analyst Harry Enten.

Fewer Democrats are currently satisfied with their party than they were after President Joe Biden’s debate performance that led to him dropping his reelection bid, Enten noted.

Democratic voters’ “pissedoffness” Enten added on social media, “has never been higher with their own party in Congress.”

“Okay, how upset are they in Congress?” he asked.

Noting that 46 percent currently are satisfied with the Democratic Party, Enten reiterated that the majority are dissatisfied.

Looking specifically at Democrats’ net approval of congressional Democrats, Enten explained that after the shutdown in October of last year, congressional Democrats had a net approval rating of plus 22 percent.

“Today, though, look at that,” he said, pointing to a net approval rating of minus 9 points.

“That is an over 30 point drop, at the climb, right into the ocean, right there,” he said.

“And I will note it had never been negative. Democrats had always had a positive net approval rating of their own party in Congress in every Congress before this one.”

“Congressional Democrats are underwater with their own party, and that’s why I think these primaries are going to be so interesting, because they’re going to tell us, okay, which way do Democrats want their party to go?”

He said the “big problem” is “Democrats aren’t sure what direction they want their party to go.”

Nearly three in ten (28 percent) want the party to move to the left, he said. Less than one in five (18 percent) want the party to not move at all. And nearly half — 47 percent — want the party to move to the center.

“This is a party divided, where they’re not actually giving a clear message of where they want their party to go,” he noted.

Offering a note of caution to lawmakers in primary races, Enten said that “if all of a sudden, Democrats are actually going to move to the left — which is not what their party wants — that will actually upset the rest of the electorate.”

Enten said the “only thing” that unites the Democratic base right now is “they are very upset with Donald Trump, and I think the candidates who are able to actually capture that, that’s the candidates who are going to advance to the general election.”

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‘Lingering Concerns’: Prominent Physician Wants Trump’s Doctor to Hold Press Conference

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A prominent physician is calling for President Donald Trump’s doctor to hold a press conference to answer questions over what he says are “lingering concerns” about the president’s health.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at The George Washington University, and a CNN medical analyst, says that Trump’s recent seven-day absence from public view only served to heighten concerns.

Last week, Trump — who is quickly approaching his 80th birthday — had his third annual checkup in 13 months, the fourth of his second term in office. He appeared in a televised Cabinet meeting last Wednesday, and then was not seen again until appearing in a podcast that was published Wednesday morning.

“I do physicals, because I just want, I think I have an obligation to do it, but I just came out with very, very good results, and I took a test, a cognitive test, and I got 100% on it. I got, as the expression goes, I aced it,” Trump said in the podcast.

“With lingering concerns following the president’s recent physical exam, and the president’s prolonged absence from the public eye, the White House should make available the president’s physician to answer questions from the press,” Dr. Reiner wrote.

Trump exacerbated those concerns when he appeared in the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast with what appeared to be a swollen right eye and his recurring swollen hand.

The White House Physician to the President, Captain Sean Barbabella, released notes from the president’s checkup that left many questions, critics say, including why the White House waited three days to release the memo.

Speaking about the delayed results, Dr. Reiner told CNN, “the only reason not to release a rosy report right away is that maybe it’s not so rosy, or this is some information you don’t want the public to hear.”

“I’ve read this report multiple times, and every time I read it, it actually seems to be thinner and thinner,” Reiner noted. “And I’m actually not sure what testing the president underwent last week.”

Reiner added that there were very few tests disclosed in Dr. Barbabella’s memo, “and what was confusing, to, you know, many of the physicians who reviewed these reports, is that it appeared that the president had underwent repeat testing, and I’m not sure that’s true.”

“But the president was at Walter Reed for three hours, so what actually was conducted there?” he asked.

He also noted that Barbabella’s report indicated the list of medications the president is taking “was shortened or abbreviated for readability and relevance.”

“I’m not sure what readability means,” Reiner added, “but every medication the president is taking is relevant, and they only released two cholesterol medicines and aspirin.”

 

Image via Reuters 

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Trump Resurfaces With a New Medical Malady He Can’t Hide

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President Donald Trump, who had not been seen in public for a week, appeared on a podcast with a new malady: an apparently swollen right eye — along with a recurring swollen hand.

“Trump’s right eye clearly showed puffiness and looked oddly misshapen compared to his left eye, while his right hand looked much bigger than his left,” The New Republic reported, noting the president “continues to dodge questions about his health.”

The interview with Pod Force One was taped on Tuesday, a week after Trump’s third medical checkup in 13 months, and the fourth of his second term. He told Miranda Devine, “I do physicals, because I just want, I think I have an obligation to do it, but I just came out with very, very good results, and I took a test, a cognitive test, and I got 100% on it. I got, as the expression goes, I aced it.”

He went on to say he has a “great memory.”

Trump, who’s quickly approaching his 80th birthday, is facing heightened scrutiny over the state of his health. The White House took several days to release doctor’s notes from his physical last week, adding to questions about his overall health.

The New Republic noted that “it’s very difficult to dispute what people can see with their own eyes, and the president’s outward physical appearance coupled with his tendency to fall asleep on camera don’t inspire confidence in his health.”

On Sunday, Axios reported that the White House physician’s health readout left “key blanks unfilled.”

The “memo from White House physician Sean Barbabella didn’t put to rest persistent questions about apparent bruising on Trump’s hands, swollen ankles and his alertness during some public events.” It “again attributed the bruising of his hands to frequent handshaking and aspirin therapy and noted ‘slight lower leg swelling’ it characterized as improved from last year.”

Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Axios, “I think it’s quite unusual for someone … who doesn’t have chronic problems that require more frequent monitoring to come in more often than every year.”

 

 

 

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