The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision was a rare rebuke of the president and marked a significant setback for his signature economic agenda.  

Trump made tariffs the cornerstone of his economic message heading into the midterm elections, once calling them his “favorite word in the dictionary.” He now routinely says it’s his fifth favorite word. He pledged they would lure factories back from overseas and restore lost jobs. He also cautioned that rolling them back could tip the United States into a sharp recession. But the tariffs and the costs they imposed on consumers and small businesses have been unpopular among many Americans, and Republican candidates in battleground states have been under Democratic attack for supporting them. 

The Supreme Court ruling allowed Republicans to point to Congress’s constitutional authority rather than being forced to take direct aim at Trump’s economic policies or to attempt to justify them, political strategist Jamie Jackson told the Washington Examiner. The morning ruling gave Republicans a few hours of breathing room before they found themselves back in a difficult position. 

Trump slammed the Supreme Court’s decision during a press conference, railing against the justices who ruled against him and labeling them “very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.”  

“We have alternatives,” Trump said of his tariff authorities, adding that the country could collect “more money” as a result. Specifically, he said he will impose tariffs under Section 122, a law that allows him to do so for 150 days, after which he would need congressional approval. Getting that approval, especially with midterm elections approaching, could be a difficult ask. If he fails to get Congress on board, he could turn to other authorities, but that, too, may mean more uncertainty and a rocky midterm for Republicans.

“This is the main tenet of Trump’s policy, and he will not let this go, nor will the Democrats,” Jeff Burton, founding partner at Maven Advocacy, told the Washington Examiner. “You saw the votes on the tariff authority last week in Congress, and it appears that vulnerable Republicans will be the losers here unless the economy turns around in the eyes of the American people.”

Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff also warned that Trump might actually make things worse if he “doubled down on ego and tried to force Congress to vote on tariffs during midterms, something no Republican would look forward to.”

Jalicia Evans, a Chicago-based political strategist, told the Washington Examiner, “Today could have been a great day for Republicans, but instead it’s more uncertainty.” 

In fact, that’s how Trump ended his lengthy press conference. 

“Great certainty has been brought back to the economy of the United States, and actually, the economy of the world,” he said. 

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a centrist who is retiring at the end of the year, was one of six House Republicans who voted to repeal Trump’s tariffs on Canada earlier this month. He told the Washington Examiner he wasn’t sure how much the Supreme Court’s ruling would affect the 2026 elections, but said that he didn’t “think tariffs are popular.”

“I was talking to a lot of business folks in Omaha, and they don’t like tariffs, whether it’s big businesses or small businesses,” he said. “I was with a lot of Republicans … and I didn’t see a single one who likes tariffs.”

Jeff Le, managing principal at 100 Mile Strategies, questioned whether Republicans will have sufficient time to refine a message that works to their advantage.

“With the upcoming midterm elections, retail, small business, and agriculture are likely to continue to see disruptions as it is unclear that inflation, the economy, and the president’s sagging approval numbers will improve before the November ballots,” he said. 

Georgia-based political expert David McLaughlin said if Republicans want to win in November, they will have to find a way to keep Trump under control. 

“If Republicans want to rein him in, they have to stand up to him, and for the past 10 years, they have shown ZERO willingness to do that on any type of unified or consistent basis,” he added. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) wasted little time after the ruling to praise Trump’s tariffs on social media, posting that Congress and the administration would “determine the best path forward in the coming weeks.” He claimed Trump’s tariffs have brought in “billions of dollars and created immense leverage for America’s trade strategy and for securing strong, reciprocal America-first trade agreements with countries that had been taking advantage of American workers for decades.”

Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) also poured on the praise, claiming the tariffs have been “extraordinarily successful.” He added that he would “continue to work with the Administration on ensuring President Trump’s tariff policy continues, whether through existing executive action, or through Congress.”

TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ‘RIDICULOUS’ SUPREME COURT TARIFF DECISION

Longtime political veteran Garry South believes the battle over tariffs — and what it means for the midterm elections — is far from over.

“Trump will be blasting the Supreme Court from now to the election, claiming it’ll be the end of the U.S. as we know it if he’s not able to impose tariffs at will,” he told the Washington Examiner. “And few Republicans will come out and support the court’s decision for fear of getting afoul of Trump. So the issue doesn’t go away.”