Supreme Court Rules Trump’s Tariffs Unlawful Under IEEPA

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA, does not authorize President Trump’s sweeping tariffs. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, and the consolidated case, the Court held that the statute does not grant the President the power to impose tariffs under a declaration of economic emergency. In this episode, we explore what the Court held, why the Justices disagreed about the reasoning, and what this decision might tell us about the future of presidential emergency power. To help us explore these questions are two leading Court watchers and constitutional experts, Zachary Shemtob of SCOTUSblog and Ilya Somin of the George Mason University. Julie Silverbrook, vice president of civic education of the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026) “Supreme Court strikes down tariffs,” SCOTUSblog (2/20/2026) Ilya Somin, “How the Supreme Court Spared America,” The Atlantic (2/21/2026) Ilya Somin, “The Supreme Court Spurns a Presidential Power Grab,” The Dispatch (2/23/2026) Ilya Somin, “Trump’s new tariffs are another dangerous presidential power grab,” Boston Globe (2/24/2026) Ilya Somin, “Not Everything Is an Emergency,” The Dispatch (1/31/2025) “Are Trump’s Tariffs Lawful?,” We the People (11/06/2025) 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) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠ 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 Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠live program⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Support our important work ⁠⁠Donate

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	From the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, this is We the People.
0:07.0	I'm Julie Silverbrook, Vice President of Civic Education. The National Constitution Center is a
0:12.7	nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the
0:17.4	Constitution among the American people. On February 20th, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,
0:25.6	known as AEPA, does not authorize President Trump's sweeping tariffs.
0:29.6	In a pair of consolidated cases, Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, and VOS Selections v. Trump,
0:35.6	the court held that the statute does not grant the
0:38.4	president the power to impose tariffs of this scale under a declaration of foreign or
0:43.4	economic emergency. In this episode, we explore what the court held, why the justice has
0:48.6	disagreed about the reasoning, and what this decision might tell us about the future of
0:52.5	presidential emergency power.
0:58.6	To help us explore these questions are two leading court watchers and constitutional experts.
1:02.5	Zachary Shem Taub is the executive editor of Skodas Blog.
1:08.3	Zach has written extensively on the Supreme Court and its jurisprudence for both academic journals and the popular press.
1:12.0	Prior to joining Scotis Blog, he practiced law, clerked for federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern
1:16.5	District of New York and was a professor of criminology.
1:19.7	Zach, it is wonderful to welcome you to the We the People podcast. Glad to be here.
1:24.2	And Ilya Soman is Professor of Law at George Mason University and the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute.
1:32.2	Together with the Liberty Justice Center and others, Ilya was co-counsel for respondents in VOS selections v. Trump, one of the tariff cases decided by the court.
1:41.2	Ilya, it is wonderful to welcome you back to We the People.
1:44.1	Thank you for having me.
1:45.6	Zach, let's start with you.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from National Constitution Center, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of National Constitution Center and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.