Ilya Somin in The Atlantic: “How the Supreme Court Spared America”

Society for the Rule of Law Charter Member Ilya Somin published an article in The Atlantic analyzing the recent Supreme Court judgement in Learning Resources, Inc., v. Trump. He calls the decision, “a major victory for the constitutional separation of powers, rule of law, and millions of American consumers and businesses harmed by these tariffs. This decision spared America from a dangerous, unconstitutional path.” Somin analyzes the Court’s contentions that the President’s tariffs extend beyond the authority granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and that the tariffs usurp the taxation power that the Constitution bestows upon Congress. He argues that, “in addition to upholding the separation of powers, the decision is a victory for the rule of law, which requires that major legal rules be clearly established by legislation, not subject to the whims of one person.” Somin describes the substantial economic damage of the tariffs and the damaging constitutional implications that unrestrained presidential tariffs would cause. “The president is not a king, and is not entitled to practically unlimited power to impose tariffs. The Supreme Court was right to deny it to him.”