Trump lashes out at his own Supreme Court picks over tariff ruling
#Trump tariffs #Supreme Court ruling #IEEPA #Gorsuch Barrett #Kavanaugh dissent #State of the Union #Judicial appointments #Executive authority
📌 Key Takeaways
- Trump criticized six Supreme Court justices, including his own appointees Gorsuch and Barrett, after they ruled against his tariff policy
- The court ruled that IEEPA does not grant presidents unilateral power to impose tariffs
- Trump praised Justice Kavanaugh who dissented, calling him a 'genius'
- Trump made unusually personal attacks on the justices, calling their decision 'an embarrassment to their families'
- This creates tension ahead of Trump's State of the Union address where justices typically attend
📖 Full Retelling
President Donald Trump unleashed a scathing attack on six Supreme Court justices, including two of his own appointees, in Washington on February 20, 2026, after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping global tariffs, ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not grant unilateral tariff authority to the president. Trump expressed particular frustration with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and his own appointees Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the liberal majority in the 6-3 decision, calling their ruling 'an embarrassment to their families' while praising Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who penned the principal dissent, as a 'genius.' The president also made unsubstantiated allegations that the court had been 'swayed by foreign interests' and dismissed the six justices who ruled against him as 'barely invited' to his upcoming State of the Union address, while welcoming the three dissenters. The ruling represents a significant limitation on presidential authority under IEEPA and comes as Trump continues to reshape the federal judiciary through his appointments, which have shifted the court decisively to the right since Barrett's confirmation in 2020.
🏷️ Themes
Executive Power, Judicial Independence, Political Polarization
📚 Related People & Topics
International Emergency Economic Powers Act
United States federal law
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Title II of Pub. L. 95–223, 91 Stat. 1626, enacted December 28, 1977, is a United States federal law authorizing the president to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any unusual and extraordinary...
Tariffs in the Trump administration
Topics referred to by the same term
Tariffs in the Trump administration could refer to:
Entity Intersection Graph
Connections for International Emergency Economic Powers Act:
🌐
Tariffs in the Trump administration
23 shared
🌐
Supreme court
20 shared
🌐
Commercial policy
5 shared
🌐
Tariff
4 shared
👤
Donald Trump
2 shared
Original Source
Politics Trump lashes out at his own Supreme Court picks over tariff ruling: "An embarrassment to their families" By Joe Walsh , Joe Walsh Senior Editor, Politics Joe Walsh is a senior editor for digital politics at CBS News. Joe previously covered breaking news for Forbes and local news in Boston. Read Full Bio Joe Walsh , Melissa Quinn Melissa Quinn Senior Reporter, Politics Melissa Quinn is a senior reporter for CBSNews.com, where she covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts. Read Full Bio Melissa Quinn February 20, 2026 / 5:29 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — Hours after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's sweeping global tariffs, the president directed his ire at the six justices who ruled against him — including a pair of conservative jurists who were nominated to the bench by Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump told reporters he's "ashamed of certain members of the court." He criticized the three liberal members, calling them an "automatic no," but appeared especially frustrated with the three conservatives who concluded that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act , or IEEPA, doesn't give the president the power to unilaterally impose tariffs. "You can't knock their loyalty," Mr. Trump said of the liberal justices. "That's one thing you can do with some of our people." The three conservatives who ruled against the administration's tariff strategy were George W. Bush-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts, and two justices who were appointed in Mr. Trump's first term: Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett. Asked if he regrets nominating Gorsuch and Barrett, Mr. Trump declined to answer, but called the decision "an embarrassment to their families." He also alleged — without evidence — that the court has been "swayed by foreign interests," and said the justices in the majority were "fools and lap dogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats." RINOs is short for "Republicans in name only." Mr. Trump hea...
Read full article at source