Trump Asserts Unprecedented Executive Power Post-Supreme Court Ruling
Donald Trump has issued a chilling assertion of executive dominance following a landmark legal defeat that threatened to dismantle his protectionist economic agenda. From the White House briefing room, the President reacted to a major setback by claiming he possesses the authority to cripple foreign economies at will.The outburst has rattled global markets, signalling that the administration is prepared to sidestep judicial restraints by escalating trade tensions to unprecedented levels. Trump spoke shortly after the Supreme Court overruled his flagship global tariffs.Trump: 'I Can Do Anything'Following the court's decision to strike down his emergency tariffs, Trump launched a defiant tirade, arguing that his powers as commander-in-chief extend far beyond taxation. 'I am allowed to cut off any and all trade or business with that same country,' he declared, suggesting that if he cannot levy fees, he will simply erase commercial ties. 'In other words, I can destroy the trade, I can destroy the country.'The President voiced anger that, as he sees it, the law prevents him from charging even a 'little fee' while permitting far harsher actions. 'I'm even allowed to impose a foreign country destroying embargo,' he said, casting the court's reasoning as a logical absurdity.'I can do anything I want to do to them, but I can't charge any money. So I'm allowed to destroy the country, but I can't charge him a little fee?' he continued. By insisting he can 'do anything' to foreign nations except collect revenue, Trump signalled a shift toward more aggressive, scorched-earth economic diplomacy.
The Supreme Court's Rebuke of Executive OverreachThe legal firestorm began when the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that the President had exceeded his constitutional authority. In Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump and V.O.S. Selections v. United States, the majority found that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 does not grant the executive the power to impose tariffs, reserving the power to tax for Congress.The ruling effectively invalidated the 'Liberation Day' tariffs, under which the government had already collected at least £101.4 billion ($130 billion) in duties. Critics and legal experts noted that IEEPA was designed to freeze assets and block financial transactions in emergencies, not to build a permanent trade wall.'What it means first and foremost is that Donald Trump acted illegally. He was breaking the law,' Chris Edelson, a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told Al Jazeera. 'Donald Trump said the emergency law allowed him to use tariffs and the Supreme Court said, "Actually, Congress didn't say that."'
The decision forced the administration to scramble for alternative legal pathways to preserve its signature trade war.Escalation to 15% Global TariffsFar from backing down, Trump announced a swift pivot to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to keep his agenda alive. Within 24 hours of the ruling, he used social media to lift his proposed global tariff from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.He described the court's decision as 'ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American', vowing that his new measures would take effect almost immediately.He derided the court's decision as 'ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American', vowing that his new measures would take effect almost immediately. 'I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been "ripping" the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.This new 15 per cent levy is a direct response to the judicial rebuke, but it carries strict legal limits, including a 150-day expiration period unless Congress extends or replaces it. Even so, Trump remains undeterred, insisting that these 'powerful alternatives' will keep his 'Making America Great Again' trade agenda on track.The White House has not yet provided a timeline for when Trump will sign the updated order to make the new global tariff rate official, leaving businesses and investors bracing for another round of uncertainty.
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