Are Trump’s Tariffs Lawful?

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Samuel Estreicher of the NYU School of Law and John Yoo of the UC Berkeley School of Law join to recap the oral arguments from the pair of challenges to President Trump’s tariffs and discuss whether International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the president to impose extensive tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the United States. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Samuel Estreicher et al., “Brief of Professors of Administrative Law, Separation of Powers, Foreign Relations Law, Legislation and the Regulatory State, and Trade Law” (10/24/2025) Sam Estreicher and Andrew Babbit, “The Case Against Unbounded Delegation in Trump v. VOS Selections,” Lawfare (10/30/2025) John Yoo, “What Could the Supreme Court Rule About Trump’s Tariffs,” Civitas Institute (9/8/2025) Biden v. Nebraska (2023) Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc. (2001) Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981) Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1953) United States v. Yoshida International, Inc. (CCPA, 1975) United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936) Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935) In our new podcast, Pursuit: The Founders’ to Guide to Happiness Jeffrey Rosen explores the founders’ lives with the historians who know them best. Plus, filmmaker Ken Burns shares his daily practice of self-reflection. Listen to episodes of Pursuit on Apple Podcast and Spotify. Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Explore the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our important work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate⁠⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	On November 5th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in learning resources versus Trump
0:04.9	and Trump versus VOS selections, a pair of challenges to President Trump's tariffs.
0:13.6	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center,
0:18.4	and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional
0:21.3	debate. The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit, chartered by Congress,
0:26.6	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people. This week,
0:31.8	we'll recap oral arguments in the tariffs cases and explore the arguments on all sides.
0:43.2	And to help us, we have two of America's leading scholars on foreign relations law and executive power.
0:47.6	Samuel Esreiker is the Dwight D. Opperman, professor of public law,
0:50.2	the director of the Center for Labor and Employment Law,
0:55.3	and the director of the Institute of Judicial Administration at the NYU School of Law.
1:01.8	He's author of more than a dozen books, including Beyond Elite Law, Access to Civil Justice in America, and he joined us for our preview of the Tariff's case a few months ago.
1:07.0	Sam, it's wonderful to welcome you back to We the People.
1:09.5	Thank you, Jeff. Great to be here.
1:11.7	And John Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Chair in Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law
1:15.9	and the Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin.
1:21.3	His most recent book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court, was published in 2023.
1:27.7	John is always wonderful to welcome you to with the people.
1:30.5	Jeff, great to be with you.
1:31.6	And as always, I'll do anything for the Constitution Center because it's in the best city in the world, Philadelphia.
1:38.6	And it is always sunny in Philadelphia.
1:41.6	Well, let's jump right in. We heard the oral arguments yesterday. Sam,
	...

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