Trump Administration argument on Tariffs

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defense of Emergency Tariffs

He delivered the administration's most direct public defense yet of President Trump's emergency tariff powers warning Sunday that a Supreme Court ruling against IEEPA authority would strip the White House of its most effective negotiating tool at exactly the wrong time.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on the legality of Trump's emergency tariff authority in early November 2025. A decision is anticipated later this year. Bessent used his appearance on "Sunday Morning Futures" to frame the stakes before that ruling lands.

"It's an emergency authority, and what was an emergency if it wasn't the fentanyl crisis? We are seeing Canada, Mexico, [and] China come to the table to stop this scourge of the American people."

That's the core of the administration's argument — and it's a strong one.

IEEPA exists for moments when conventional policy channels move too slowly to address genuine national emergencies. Fentanyl has killed more Americans than any foreign adversary in a generation. If that doesn't qualify as an emergency, the word has no meaning.

While the Supreme Court has not given a date for the next hearing, JPMorgan analysts Amy Ho and Joyce Chang noted that historically, the Supreme Court reserves its most consequential rulings for the end of its term in June, allowing for extended deliberation.

Bets are that Trump will lose in the Supreme court, according to Yahoo