The Trump administration attempted to defend its use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act before the Supreme Court on Wednesday — sometimes by contradicting the president.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer faced a slew of skeptical inquiries from the justices who seemed to take issue with many of the Trump administration’s arguments, including that the president has broad authority to respond to international emergencies, Congress delegated the presidency this power, and tariffs are not tax.
Since the Constitution gives Congress the power to tax, the claim that tariffs are not a tax was central to Sauer’s argument, despite the fact that the president has framed them as revenue-raising.