What a Mess!

Last week the Supreme Court of the United States declared that the use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify President Trump's tariff regime was not constitutional. President Trump said, “This was an important case to me.” He was outraged at the supposedly personal afront and let everyone know it, accusing Supreme Court justices (including some nominated by him) of being under the influence of foreign powers. But the Court was only doing what the Framers of the Constitution envisioned. As John Adams said, they created a “government of laws and not of men.” That is not the type of government President Trump wants. Listed below are a number of my commentaries that may give you some insight on why the Court did what it did.

How to Not Improve Democracy, April 22, 2019, an analysis of how dictators try to change democratic institutions to cement their control of government power.

Ideological Justice, April 13, 2023 a discussion of how the system of justice created by the Framers in the Constitution of the United States is intended to be a check on political power, not an instrument of political power.

Means and Ends, July 8, 2024: an investigation into the Supreme Court’s decision regarding a president’s immunity for official acts as opposed to unofficial acts.

A Living Document, August 6, 2025: a discussion about how an easily amended constitution would mean the end of democracy.

Unfinished Revolution, October 31, 2025: an assertion that the originalist justices on the Supreme Court are conservative but not MAGA and opinions of the Court will be based on the Constitution and not President Trump’s political agenda.

Unconstrained, January 20, 2026: an opinion that the Supreme Court will not take the cost of refunding tariffs already paid into account when rendering their decision on the legality of the tariff program.

The Important thing that we must keep in mind is that all the economic uncertainty and the potentially enormous cost of reparation of this mess are not due to the Supreme Court decision but were caused by the president acting without proper authority.