President Donald Trump said Friday that he is “ashamed of certain members” of the Supreme Court after Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he appointed in his first term, ruled against his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Trump opened his White House press briefing, scheduled on short notice after the 6-3 ruling against his tariffs, by ripping some of the court’s justices without naming them. Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, notably wrote the majority opinion striking down the tariffs.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” he said.
He noted that liberal judges typically rule against him, adding, “You can’t knock their loyalty.” On the other hand, he said you can knock the loyalty of “some of our people.”
“Others think they’re being politically correct, which has happened before, far too often with certain members of this court… when in fact, they’re just being fools and lap dogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats,” he said.
“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think. It’s a small movement,” he added.
Meanwhile, he applauded Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump also appointed in his first term, and who wrote in his dissenting opinion that he “firmly” disagreed with the court’s decision.
Kavanaugh laid out a path for future tariffs through statutes other than IEEPA, including “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).” He noted that there are perhaps a few more procedural steps for these tariffs than under IEEPA.
Trump said Kavanaugh’s “stock has gone so up” and that he is “so proud of him.”
“I would like to thank Justice Kavanaugh for… frankly, his genius, and his great ability,” he added.
Trump said “all national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 tariffs… remain in place,” and that he will be imposing, through an order on Friday, “a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122 over and above our normal tariffs already being charged.”
The ruling and briefing come days ahead of the State of the Union on Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol, where the nine Supreme Court justices will be on hand.
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