SCOTUS Just Struck Down Trump’s Tariffs. Finish the Job.

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs were unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Gorsuch and Barrett along with the three liberal justices, wrote that IEEPA “does not authorize the president to impose tariffs” and that the power to tax belongs to Congress alone. This ruling invalidates what the administration called its signature economic policy, including the “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 145% on goods from nearly every U.S. trading partner. But the ruling did not erase the damage already done. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York calculated that American households and businesses absorbed 90% of those tariff costs. Food prices rose 2.9% year over year as of January 2026, per BLS data. Restaurant meals are up 4%. The administration knew this was happening and kept collecting the taxes anyway, pulling in roughly $130 billion under the now-invalidated IEEPA authority while the court case worked its way up. Trump has already signaled he will try to reimpose the tariffs through other legal authorities, so the threat to your constituents is not over. The president ran on fixing the economy. Instead he used an emergency law that courts at every level found illegal to unilaterally reshape global trade with no congressional input and no plan for the families caught in the middle. Groceries, car parts, household goods all climbed while his administration dismissed the damage as political noise. Six Republicans voted in the House earlier this month to scrap the Canada tariffs. The Senate now has a joint resolution from Rep. Gregory Meeks sitting in front of it to terminate the national emergency that enabled this whole regime. Move the Meeks resolution through the Senate and vote to terminate the remaining national emergency declarations that could be used to reimpose IEEPA-style tariffs through the back door. Pass legislation restoring Congress’s explicit role in setting trade policy so no president can pull this again. Convene joint hearings through Ways and Means and Senate Finance to build a real cost-of-living package targeting grocery prices, energy costs, and consumer goods. The court did its job on February 20. Do yours.