Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariff Authority, House Judiciary Chair Warns Congress Bears Responsibility

Friday, February 20, 2026

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said on Friday that Congress bears responsibility for the legal uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose broad tariffs.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the president exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

“One thing is clear,” Roy said. “The fact is, Congress is the one who made the mess out of all of this.”

Roy added that the language in the statute is “incredibly vague and problematic” and that he has been trying to work on reforms in Congress for years.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that Trump must point to clear congressional authorization to justify sweeping global tariffs under IEEPA, a 1977 law that grants the president authority to address unusual and extraordinary foreign threats. The ruling stated the statute did not provide sufficient authorization for the broad tariff program at issue.

Roy, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, argued that Congress has allowed “40- and 50-year abuses of the IEEPA statute” and noted he introduced legislation six years ago aimed at reforming the law.

“Congress needs to clean it up,” Roy said. “And the court here, I don’t think, did us any favors. I think they made it worse.”

Roy added that the high court acknowledged the president has other authorities he could use to pursue tariff policy. “The president has a lot of other authorities, and the court acknowledged that,” he said.

Whether Congress will move to grant additional tariff authority remains uncertain, Roy said. He emphasized that if Republicans want to maintain their majority, “Congress does need to act.”

Roy concluded: “The president is doing a lot of great things for this country … and now we’re going to have a debate about the tariff issue.”