U.S. Supreme Court weighs Trump’s tariffs in test of presidential power

‘Simply implausible’ to believe Congress gave Trump this power: Katyal

Neal Katyal, who was acting solicitor general during the Obama administration, laid out the thrust of his argument on behalf of small businesses.

“Tariffs are taxes. They take dollars from Americans’ pockets and deposit them in the U.S. Treasury,” Katyal told the court.

“Our founders gave that taxing power to Congress alone. Yet here the president bypassed Congress and imposed one of the largest tax increases in our lifetimes.”

He said many doctrines explain why Trump’s actions are illegal, but also argued that it’s common sense.

“It’s simply implausible that in enacting IEEPA, Congress handed the president the power to overhaul the entire tariff system — and the American economy in the process — allowing him to set and reset tariffs on any and every product from any and every country at any and all times,” Katyal said before inviting the justices to ask questions.