Trump Promises New Tariffs After Justices Rule Against Him

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Newsletter The Evening Trump Promises New Tariffs After Justices Rule Against Him Also, Cuba nears collapse. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday. Share full article By Matthew Cullen Feb. 20, 2026, 5:39 p.m. ET The Supreme Court ruled today that President Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from nearly every U.S. trading partner. The decision was a major setback for the president, who has used the tariffs to reshape the global economy, exert his foreign policy goals and underpin his domestic agenda. Now, uncertainty abounds. The 6-3 ruling was a rare example of justices across the ideological spectrum pushing back against the president’s expansive view of his powers. Trump was the first U.S. leader to claim that a 1970s emergency statute, which does not mention tariffs, allowed him to impose fees on imports without congressional approval. Writing for the majority today, John Roberts, the conservative chief justice, rejected Trump’s claim. ( Read the full ruling here .) Three conservative justices, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented, arguing that the president should be able to impose tariffs and that striking them down could cause chaos. The administration has suggested that it might be forced to unwind trade deals and refund tens of billions of dollars in tariff revenue that the president promised to spend on a wide array of priorities . Trump, who just yesterday said that “tariff is my favorite word in the whole dictionary,” responded to the ruling with defiance. In a news conference this afternoon, the president promised to restore tariffs using other, more targeted powers . He said he would use a law called Section 122, which no president has ever invoked, to impose an across-the-board 10 percent tariff. The president also attacked the justices who ruled against him — including two he nominated, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — calling them “fools and lap d...