Supreme Court rules most of Trump’s tariffs are illegal

February 20, 2026·23 min·2 clips

The Supreme Court just struck down Trump's signature tariffs, saying he overstepped his authority.

One of Trump's major economic moves just got knocked sideways. Tamara Keith leads a brisk conversation with Danielle Kurtzleben and Ashley Lopez after the Supreme Court says Trump did not have unilateral authority to impose the tariffs at issue. IEPA gets a plain explanation first. Danielle lays out the administration's claim that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act let Trump use an emergency declaration to put tariffs on imports from around the world. The ruling was 6-3, which the panel reads as a clear legal loss, though not the end of the fight. Refunds are where things get sticky. The federal government has already collected large sums, and the conversation notes that economists say much of that cost fell on American consumers and companies. The opinion did not settle reimbursement. Justice Kavanaugh's dissent is described as chiding the majority for leaving that practical problem open. Trump was not clear on refunds either, and complained about the omission. At the White House press briefing, he said the government had taken in hundreds of billions and complained that the court had not said whether to keep the money. Litigation could take a while. The reporters mention Neil Katyal's argument that the companies in the case may get refunds while others may need an administrative protest. That sounds slow, and the segment keeps circling the same gap: winning a ruling is one thing, unwinding money already collected is another. The credits land after lighter banter about skating to Donna Summer.

As heard by us

A clear, careful look at a tariff ruling with real economic fallout.

The episode walks through the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling against Trump-era tariffs and lays out how IEPA was used, why the administration leaned on emergency power, and what the ruling still leaves open.

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Need the tariff ruling explained without the legal fog?

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