The administration spent October 19 still living inside the legal and economic mess created by Trump’s tariff spree. Even after earlier rulings said the emergency-powers theory behind the tariffs was unlawful, the White House was still trying to hold the line and pretend the whole thing was just a temporary legal squabble. It wasn’t. The underlying problem was that Trump had used emergency powers to build a giant trade wall, and the courts had already said that move lacked a lawful foundation.
First recorded Oct 19, 2025·Meaningfully updated Oct 19, 2025
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Trump’s tariff mess keeps boomeranging
The administration spent October 19 still living inside the legal and economic mess created by Trump’s tariff spree. Even after earlier rulings said the emergency-powers theory behind the tariffs was unlawful, the White House was still trying to hold the line and pretend the whole thing was just a temporary legal squabble. It wasn’t. The underlying problem was that Trump had used emergency powers to build a giant trade wall, and the courts had already said that move lacked a lawful foundation.
The administration spent October 19 still living inside the legal and economic mess created by Trump’s tariff spree. Even after earlier rulings said the emergency-powers theory behind the tariffs was unlawful, the White House was still trying to hold the line and pretend the whole thing was just a temporary legal squabble. It wasn’t. The underlying problem was that Trump had used emergency powers to build a giant tr…
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