{"id":2572009,"date":"2026-02-20T15:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:02:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:02:32","slug":"kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Kavanaugh: Trump Has Tariff Power And Here&#8217;s How He Can Use It"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572009&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Federalist reports that the U.S. Supreme court ruled 6-3 against President Trump\u2019s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on foreign goods. The majority held that IEEPA\u2019s language to \u201cregulate \u2026 importation\u201d does not authorize tariff levies. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel alito, authored a principal dissent arguing that the statute\u2019s text, history, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >precedent support presidential tariff powers<\/a> and that the decision may not significantly constrain future actions, since other federal statutes already authorize tariffs. Kavanaugh pointed to acts such as the Trade Expansion Act of 1962,the Trade Act of 1974,and the Tariff Act of 1930 as alternative bases for tariff authority,suggesting close attention to procedural steps that IEEPA does not require. Following the ruling,Trump announced the use of another statute to impose a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-panelist-loses-it-says-trump-wants-to-deport-people-who-pick-your-crops-in-delusional-rant\/\" title=\"CNN Panelist Loses It, Says ... Wants to Deport People Who &#039;Pick Your Crops&#039; in Delusional Rant\">10 percent global tariff<\/a>,while existing Section 232 and 301 tariffs would remain in place. the article also profiles author shawn Fleetwood and lists related tags including Kavanaugh, Trump, IEEPA, SCOTUS, and tariffs.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:The_White_House_-_54427036471.jpg\">Daniel Torok\/The White House\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Kavanaugh:%20Trump%20Obviously%20Has%20Tariff%20Power%20And%20Here%E2%80%99s%20How%20He%20Can%20Keep%20Using%20It&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Kavanaugh:%20Trump%20Obviously%20Has%20Tariff%20Power%20And%20Here%E2%80%99s%20How%20He%20Can%20Keep%20Using%20It&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Kavanaugh:%20Trump%20Obviously%20Has%20Tariff%20Power%20And%20Here%E2%80%99s%20How%20He%20Can%20Keep%20Using%20It&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/kavanaugh-trump-obviously-has-tariff-power-and-heres-how-he-can-keep-using-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court may have ruled against President Trump&rsquo;s use of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rules-against-trump-in-emergency-tariffs-cases\/\" title=\"... Rules Against ... In Emergency Tariffs Cases\">emergency economics law<\/a> to impose tariffs on foreign countries, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the president is left without other measures he can pursue to implement them.<\/p>\n<p>In its Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/supreme-court-rules-against-trump-in-emergency-tariffs-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decision<\/a> in <em>Learning Resources, Inc., et al v. Trump<\/em>, the high court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-1287_4gcj.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> (6-3) that Trump&rsquo;s invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to enact tariffs on foreign goods coming into the United States is unlawful. The majority more specifically asserted that the president&rsquo;s reliance on the statute&rsquo;s &ldquo;regulate &hellip; importation&rdquo; language does not encompass the power to levy tariffs. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1444735564\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Associate Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito strenuously disagreed. In the principal dissent authored by Kavanaugh, the three justices argued that the existing &ldquo;[s]tatutory text, history, and precedent demonstrate that the answer&rdquo; to the question of whether presidents possess the power to implement tariffs under IEEPA &ldquo;is clearly yes.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Throughout his opinion, Kavanaugh provided a thorough explainer of how the law&rsquo;s text, &ldquo;longstanding historical practice, and relevant Supreme Court precedents&rdquo; favor the president. Equally significant, however, is the justice&rsquo;s note clarifying that the majority&rsquo;s opinion &ldquo;might not substantially constrain a President&rsquo;s ability to order tariffs going forward.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That is because numerous other federal statutes authorize the President to impose tariffs and might justify most (if not all) of the tariffs at issue in this case &mdash; albeit perhaps with a few additional procedural steps that IEEPA, as an emergency statute, does not require,&rdquo; Kavanaugh wrote.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/20\/4-of-the-best-lines-from-kavanaughs-masterclass-defense-of-trumps-tariff-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4 Of The Best Lines From Kavanaugh&rsquo;s Masterclass Defense Of Trump&rsquo;s Tariff Power<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Trump appointee went on to list a series of existing federal statutes conferring the president tariff powers. Among those referenced by the justice are &ldquo;the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232); the Trade Act of 1974 (Sections 122, 201, and 301); and the Tariff Act of 1930 (Section 338).&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In essence, the Court today concludes that the President checked the wrong statutory box by relying on IEEPA rather than another statute to impose these tariffs,&rdquo; Kavanaugh wrote.<\/p>\n<p>It didn&rsquo;t take long after the high court&rsquo;s ruling came down for Trump to turn to such alternative statutes to enact tariffs on foreign goods. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2024919222174773340?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Citing<\/a> Kavanaugh&rsquo;s dissent, the president <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2024917683121074276?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> in a Friday press conference that he is signing an order imposing a &ldquo;10 percent global tariff under Section 122 over and above our normal tariffs already being charged.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Existing Section 232 and 301 tariffs will continue to &ldquo;remain in place,&rdquo; according to Trump.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"87KyYzjvkOst6wguM1RmEl5JaPrZxNTcV4SeIUfFbC2W\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Justice Kavanaugh did not mince words in his blistering dissent in the Supreme Court&rsquo;s tariffs ruling. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FDRLST?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FDRLST<\/a> 1\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/g84YM7rCiB\">pic.twitter.com\/g84YM7rCiB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shawn Fleetwood (@ShawnFleetwood) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\/status\/2024907022563528859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/brett-kavanaugh\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Brett Kavanaugh<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/international-emergency-economic-powers-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">International Emergency Economic Powers Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/learning-resources-inc-v-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Learning Resources Inc v. Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/section-232\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Section 232<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tariffs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">tariffs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCOTUS blocks IEEPA tariffs; Trump uses other laws<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2572010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Donald-Trump.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[9068,50406,3634],"class_list":["post-2572009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-kavanaugh","tag-tariffs-2","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Donald-Trump.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572009"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572013,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572009\/revisions\/2572013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}