Extract from ABC News
Analysis
The US Supreme Court has put a stop to Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs program. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
For those who have been predicting the imminent end of American democracy, some contrary evidence.
Many key institutions in the United States at present are under pressure from the weight of a president who makes plain that he wants enormous, if not absolute, power. Donald Trump does not like people or organisations getting in his way.
Key institutions such as the FBI and Department of Justice are being openly accused of no longer being independent.
The people running those institutions insist they are, but there is a growing perception that they are not acting independently, but rather at the behest of Trump.
Frequent declarations by Kash Patel, the head of the FBI, and Pam Bondi, who oversees the Department of Justice, that Trump is "the greatest president ever", or words to that effect, have fuelled those perceptions.
The decision by the Supreme Court to strike down Trump's tariff policy by a 6-3 majority proves that one institution has retained independence: the Supreme Court.
This decision on tariffs is historic. Put bluntly, six members of the court have said that the basis on which Trump built his centrepiece economic strategy is illegal.
The six justices who voted to strike down the Trump tariffs were Chief Justice John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The three who dissented were Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh.
Trump described the decision as "disappointing".
"I'm ashamed of certain members of the court," he said.
But of Justice Kavanaugh, the Trump appointee who wrote a dissenting opinion, the president said: "I'm so proud of him."
'Seething'
Until now, Trump has been one of the most unstoppable presidents ever.
His return to the White House, after many believed his political career was over, gave him an extraordinary sense of self-belief.
As his campaign for re-election gathered momentum, he captured control of the Republican Party.
He still has control over the party, but there are increasing signs that some Republicans are beginning to push back against him, nervous that they may face a Trump backlash at the midterm elections in November.
But with control of the Republicans and victory for the party in both the House of Representatives and Senate, Trump became a hugely powerful president eager to use that power.
It was with great fanfare that on April 2, 2025, Trump stood outside the White House and declared it "Liberation day" as he unveiled his "reciprocal tariffs".
To say Trump is angry to see them struck down is an understatement.
At a news conference soon after the decision, he launched a fierce attack on "the Democrats" on the Supreme Court.
Donald Trump, pictured preparing for a press conference after the court ruling, was said to be "seething". (AP: Alex Brandon)
The Wall Street Journal reported on the moment he found out about the decision. It said that he had just started a closed-door White House meeting with state governors when one of his trade advisers handed him a piece of paper.
"So it's a loss, then?" Trump asked the adviser, according to people in the room.
"Trump told the governors sitting before him in the White House's state dining room that he looked calm, but he was seething," the Journal reported.
Soon after learning of the decision, he cut short a question-and-answer session and left the room. He said he needed to leave to work on his response to the ruling.
Alternatives 'won't be as pretty'
This is a major setback for Trump's economic policy and a personal embarrassment. He has frequently and staunchly talked at rallies and public events about how his tariff policy will make both the country and average Americans wealthy.
"Without tariffs this country would be in such trouble right now," Trump said recently.
While he is clearly angry, it's not as if this decision is a complete surprise for the White House.
In an interview with The New York Times on January 11, Trump was asked what he would do if the Supreme Court ruled against him on tariffs.
"I'll have to find some other alternative," he said. "It won't be as clean, it won't be as pretty as it is right now… you have a lot of alternatives. You could take a look at the word 'licence'. Licence is a very pretty word. It's sort of strange. I'm allowed to license, because when you license, you get, you know, you get money for licensing things."
While it is not clear exactly what Trump was suggesting, what is clear is that he was already looking at alternatives to try to retain some sort of tariff policy.
The Supreme Court does not suggest what an alternative could be, but one of the dissenting judges, Kavanaugh, did warn that trying to refund tariffs that had already been imposed would most likely be a mess.
Diminished authority
Part of the Trump modus operandi is never to concede defeat or show vulnerability. He will undoubtedly tell Americans that he has alternatives which will be good for them.
But if opinion polls are correct, Trump is facing a significant backlash at the upcoming midterm elections — with the possibility of losing control of the House or the Senate or both.
His authority has been diminished.
Trump had changed global trade rules by imposing tariffs on most countries without any approval from Congress. To avoid Congress he invoked "emergency" conditions to give himself enormous power.
But the Supreme Court ruling has said that the US Constitution "very clearly" gives Congress tariff power, rather than the President.
In the majority decision, Chief Justice John Roberts made reference to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump used to invoke the emergency and impose the tariffs.
Roberts said:
"It is also telling that in the IEEPA's half century of existence, no President has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope. That 'lack of historical precedent', coupled with the breadth of authority that the President now claims, suggests that the tariffs extend beyond the President's 'legitimate reach'."
"Beyond the President's legitimate reach": That's not a phrase or concept Trump is used to hearing.
The president has been told there are limits to his power.
The question now is: How will an angry Donald Trump react when he's had his wings clipped?
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