The Daily Fuckup

The Supreme Court drew a bright line on February 20, 2026: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the president authority to impose tariffs. That was the holding in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, and the Court said it without hedging. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287diff_3d9g.pdf))

The opinion starts from the Constitution’s assignment of taxing power to Congress. It says IEEPA lets the president investigate, block, regulate, direct, compel, nullify, void, prevent, or prohibit certain transactions in an emergency, but it does not mention tariffs or duties. In the Court’s view, that omission matters. If Congress wants to hand over a power this consequential, it has to do so expressly. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287diff_3d9g.pdf))

The case mattered because the administration had used IEEPA to defend tariffs tied to drug trafficking concerns and trade deficits. The Court rejected that theory, concluding that “regulate . . . importation” does not secretly include the power to tax imports through tariffs. It also said the President must point to clear congressional authorization for that kind of authority, and IEEPA does not supply it. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287diff_3d9g.pdf))

The ruling is specific, not universal. It does not erase every path the White House might try in future trade fights, and it does not decide every tariff dispute on every statute. But for the tariffs challenged in this case, the legal hook was cut loose. The Court vacated the judgment in No. 24-1287 and sent it back with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, while affirming the judgment in No. 25-250. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287diff_3d9g.pdf))