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One major issue hanging over oral arguments is the extent to which the #Trump admin must refund tariff revenue in the event that the justices find its policies to be illegal.
Speaking on behalf of the challengers, #Katyal acknowledged it is a “difficult” question. But he generally seemed to suggest the court had many options at its disposal & could reconcile that later—including, for example, by limiting its decision “to prospective relief.”
Benjamin Gutman, Oregon’s solicitor general, is making his first oral argument appearance before the justices on behalf of a group of #states that challenged the #tariffs.
#Kavanaugh asked, why would #Congress give the president the power to shut down #trade but not to take a less severe step, like impose a 1% tariff. That, he said, appeared to underscore the govt’s claim, creating an “odd donut hole in the statute.”
“It’s not a donut hole,” responded Gutman. “It’s a different kind of pastry.”
We are approaching the 2½-hour mark in #SCOTUS’ tariff oral argument. So far, the justices have heard argument in defense of Trump’s #tariffs from Solicitor General D. John Sauer. They then heard the argument against the tariffs from Neal #Katyal, lawyer for small businesses who challenged the tariffs.
Now, they are listening to the argument against the tariffs by Benjamin Gutman, the solicitor general of Oregon, who represents a group of states that challenged the tariffs.
An emerging theme, from the conservative justices, is that the president’s concededly broad power to shut down #trade generally may include the lesser power to impose #tariffs. That echoes the admin’s position.
Justice #Sotomayor jumped into the questioning & refocused the case back on a primary argument against the tariff programs, that the #Constitution gives #Congress, NOT the president, the #power to #tax.
#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #Trump #economy
#Sotomayor: “We’re forgetting here is a
very fundamental point, which is the #Constitution is structured so that if I’m going to be asked to pay for something as a citizen, that it’s through a bill that is generated through #Congress, & the president has the power to veto it or not, but I’m not going to be taxed unless both houses, the executive & the legislature, have made that choice, correct?”
#SCOTUS #law #tariffs #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #Trump #economy
At one point, #Sotomayor listed some of the #tariffs #Trump had imposed, & the wide ranging reasons he had done so — pointing to examples like #Brazil. That country is facing steep duties as Trump looks to protect his political ally, #Bolsonaro, from prosecution.
She concluded with a rhetorical question: “The point is, those may be good policies, but does the statute…[give]…without limit the power to the president to impose this kind of tax—does it require more than the word ‘regulate’?”
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