CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS

And so, the Supreme Court of the United States has finally ruled decisively against President Donald J. Trump. The Court ruled 6-3 today that President Trump’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (the “IEEPA”) upon the American importers of goods and services from foreign countries, was not and is not authorized by that statute.[1] The Court did not base its decision on any limitation of power contained in the United States Constitution. But the explicit limitations of power contained in that document were certainly in the background of the opinions issued by the six Justices, including two Justices appointed by President Trump himself, in support of the Court’s ultimate judgment.

First, the Division of Powers Clauses of the original Constitution, found at Article I, §1; Article II, §1; and Article III, §1, absolutely forbid the wholesale delegation, without limitation, of Congress’s powers to make the laws, to the President, who is given no such power by the Constitution. Second, the explicit power of Congress to “lay and collect” “taxes” and “duties,” found at Article I, §8, limits the power to “collect” the money needed to pay for the government exclusively to the Congress itself, representing the people of the United States who have to pay those taxes. The United States fought and won its first war to establish that “no taxation without representation” rule. Third, the Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to certain specified matters, see Article I, §8, and the handling of “emergencies” in general is not one of them. To be sure, Section 8 contains a clause granting Congress the power to enact all laws that are “necessary and proper” for the execution of the specified powers. But endowing the President with unlimited taxing authority is not “proper” under any circumstances. Otherwise, all of the soldiers who fought and died under George Washington’s command fought and died in vain.

Given these Constitutional concerns, the Court was absolutely right to interpret the IEEPA as no authority for President Trump’s claims to power to impose unlimited tariffs or duties.

/s/ Dan D. Rhea

[1] Learning Resources v. Trump, U.S. Sup.Ct. Slip Opinion of February 20, 2026.