Tipsheet

Judicial Coup: SECOND Court Blocks Trump's Tariffs

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  May 29, 2025 1:30 PM

The little courts think they can dictate to the executive aspects of immigration and foreign policy, and now they’re trying to chip away at the president’s power to issue tariffs. Last night, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade shut down the reciprocal tariff policy enacted by Trump on Liberation Day, essential for re-negotiating trade deals. Now, a second court has decided to participate in this judicial coup. The Trump administration has 14 days to appeal (via Politico):

A second federal court has ruled against President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs on imports from around the world, dealing another blow to his trade agenda and efforts to strike new deals with dozens of countries. 

“The International Economic Emergency Powers Act does not authorize the President to impose the tariffs set forth” in four executive orders Trump issued earlier this year, D.C. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras said in a decision ordering a preliminary injunction on the collection of the duties on the two plaintiffs who brought the case. 

Justice Department attorneys had urged Contreras not to approve the companies’ request for an injunction, saying it would act like a “magnet” in attracting thousands of other companies to challenge the duty. 

Contreras, who also called the tariffs “unlawful,” stayed his order for 14 days “so the parties may seek review in the Court of Appeals.”

Congress must act and strip this national injunction power. Impeach the judges, dissolve their districts—something has to be done. We might be reaching a point where this administration should ignore the courts since these rulings are facially unlawful.

This is a developing story.