Trump’s Tariffs Defeat Spells Long-Term Danger for the Left
Progressives celebrating the Supreme Court’s anticipated ruling against Donald Trump’s tariffs risk encouraging the consolidation of a dangerous legal doctrine that will be used to defeat their own agenda for decades to come.
That the major questions doctrine may now be used to rein in the Trump administration’s trade policy should give no one comfort, particularly not progressives or liberals. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Perhaps as early as this Friday, the Supreme Court will announce a ruling in the Trump administration’s tariff cases, Learning Resources v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections. The takeaway from the oral argument back in November was clear: the administration is in trouble and headed for defeat.
For many on the Left, such a blow to Donald Trump’s authoritarian administration might sound like cause for celebration. It is not.
Apart from the fact that such a ruling would pose little threat to Trump’s punitive tariffs, which the White House could pursue under different statutes, the main problem is that any decision invalidating the current tariff regime would almost certainly rest on the Supreme Court’s increasingly aggressive use of the major questions doctrine.
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