Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is urging conservatives to see the Supreme Courts recent tariff decision not as a defeat for President Donald Trump, but as an opening for even stronger economic gains.
The court, in a 6-3 ruling, curtailed President Trumps use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a vehicle for sweeping global tariffs, a move Democrats quickly celebrated as a check on executive authority, according to Fox News. Yet Kennedy framed the outcome as both predictable and potentially advantageous, remarking, "Stevie Wonder could see this decision coming," during an appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend."
While the ruling clipped one legal pathway, Kennedy stressed that the presidents aggressive tariff strategy has already delivered leverage at the negotiating table and helped secure better trade agreements. "The president didn't just sit around admiring that trade authority, that tariff authority, sucking on his teeth. He used it, and he used it to negotiate trade agreements," Kennedy said, underscoring the administrations willingness to confront foreign competitors rather than defer to globalist orthodoxy.
Democrats, who have long opposed tariffs as inflationary and harmful to consumers, are now pressing to return the money collected under the invalidated authority. "My Democratic colleagues are saying, Oh, give it back, give back," Kennedy noted, before warning that such a move could supercharge the very economy they routinely criticize. "My Democratic peeps better be careful what they ask for, because if he gives back $300 billion worth of tariff money to the business community in America, this economy's [going to] roar, man, and the midterms are only a few months off," he added.
The stakes are substantial: in January alone, tariff revenue reached $30.4 billion, a 275% jump from January 2025, with the White House previously floating the idea of using those funds to support domestic initiatives and chip away at the national debt. Tariffs have become a defining feature of the second Trump administration, rooted in the presidents 2025 declaration that the nations trade deficit constituted a "national emergency" and justified broad action under IEEPA.
Kennedy portrayed Trumps posture as unapologetically tough, saying of the president, "He believes in being a bear. And he thinks if youre [going to] be a bear, be a grizzly." True to that image, Trump responded to the Supreme Courts rebuke by immediately invoking a different legal basis and signing a fresh order imposing a 10% global tariff, later proclaiming on Truth Social, "It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately."
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