The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s global tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on Friday in a 6–3 ruling. Within hours, Trump signed a new order from the Oval Office imposing a 10 percent global tariff under separate legal authority.
The ruling was immediately followed by action from the White House, Fox News reported. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., addressed the decision during an appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Kennedy argued the ruling could prove politically insignificant given the timing and the revenue already collected under the tariffs. He cited $300 billion in tariff revenue collected under Trump’s trade authority.
According to Kennedy, that revenue is already in federal coffers and the trade agreements negotiated under the tariff structure have been completed.
“My Democratic peeps better be careful what they ask for because if he gives back $300 billion worth of tariff money to the business community in America, this economy’s [going to] roar, man, and the midterms are only a few months off,” Kennedy said. “Stevie Wonder could see this decision coming,”
Tariff revenue reached $30.4 billion in January alone, a 275 percent increase compared to January 2025.
Kennedy said the Supreme Court ruled on the legality of the mechanism used to impose the tariffs, but noted that the authority had already been exercised.
“The president didn’t just sit around admiring that trade authority, that tariff authority, sucking on his teeth,” Kennedy said.
“He used it, and he used it to negotiate trade agreements,” he added.
Trump declared the country’s trade deficit a national emergency in 2025 and asserted tariff authority under IEEPA.
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Trade agreements negotiated during that period remain in place.
On Friday afternoon, Trump announced the new tariff order on Truth Social.
“It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately,” Trump wrote.
The White House said the revenue generated from the tariffs could help fund domestic initiatives and reduce the national debt.
The Supreme Court ruling closed the IEEPA pathway.
The new 10 percent global tariff remains in effect under separate authority. The trade agreements negotiated prior to the ruling remain intact.
Democrats praised the Court’s decision, arguing tariffs increase costs for consumers. The administration moved quickly to implement an alternative mechanism before the end of the day.
President Trump kept complaining on Monday about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to block his wide-ranging tariffs. Since the decision on Friday, Trump has posted at least six messages on Truth Social criticizing the Supreme Court.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the court “accidentally and unknowingly” gave him “far more powers and strength” than before the “internationally divisive” ruling. He also hinted that he expects to lose another legal battle after the court hears arguments about his executive order ending birthright citizenship.
“I can use Licenses to do absolutely ‘terrible’ things to foreign countries, especially those countries that have been RIPPING US OFF for many decades, but incomprehensibly, according to the ruling, can’t charge them a License fee — BUT ALL LICENSES CHARGE FEES, why can’t the United States do so?” Trump said in his post.
After the ruling, the president announced first a 10 percent and, later, a 15 percent global tariff.
The rare rejection of the president’s priorities by the conservative-leaning court quickly drew Trump’s anger, and he lambasted the majority justices as “unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.”
In a separate post on Monday, Trump appeared to warn other countries he is still willing to impose tariffs on them.
“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous Supreme Court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” he said. “BUYER BEWARE!!!”
