Supreme Court Will Hear Our Case Challenging Trump's Tariffs - and Two Other Related Cases

Today, the Supreme Court decided to review V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, our case challenging President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. The case was filed by the Liberty Justice Center and myself on behalf of five small businesses harmed by the tariffs. It is consolidated with a similar suit filed by twelve state governments, led by the state of Oregon. Both challenge massive tariffs Trump has imposed using his supposed authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), and both will now be heard on the same accelerated schedule. The Supreme Court also decided to hear Learning Resources v. Trump, a case challenging many of the same tariffs, filed by two importers in a different federal court.

We, the twelve states, and the Learning Resources plaintiffs all prevailed in the lower courts, and I hope the Supreme Court will also recognize the IEEPA tariffs are illegal for a variety of reasons. Fundamentally, these cases come down to whether the president has virtually unlimited power to impose taxes in the form of tariffs on the American people, much like an absolute monarch. The Framers of the Constitution deliberately denied the executive the kind of unbridled tax authority claimed by power-grabbing English kings, like Charles I.

The Court’s order is short. For convenience, I reprint it here in full:

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. V. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. [24-1287]
TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. V. V.O.S. SELECTIONS, INC., ET AL. [25-250]

The petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment in No. 24-1287 is granted. The motion to expedite and the petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 25-250 are granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. Respondents in No. 24-1287 and petitioners in No. 25-250 shall file an opening brief on the merits on or before Friday, September 19, 2025. Any amicus curiae briefs in support or in support of neither party shall be filed on or before Tuesday, September 23, 2025. Petitioners in No. 24-1287 and respondents in No. 25-250 shall file response briefs on the merits on or before Monday, October 20, 2025. Any amicus curiae briefs in support shall be filed on or before Friday, October 24, 2025. A reply brief shall be filed by Thursday, October 30, 2025. The cases will be set for argument in the first week of the November 2025 argument session.

The Liberty Justice Center has issued a statement about the order, which I reprint below. No one will be surprised that I agree with it! Here it is:

Today, the Supreme Court granted the government’s expedited request for Supreme Court review (writ of certiorari) in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, agreeing to review whether the Trump Administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs exceed the President’s legal and constitutional authority. Given the importance of the issues and the need for a prompt resolution, the Liberty Justice Center agreed to the government’s request.

The Liberty Justice Center, along with legal scholar Ilya Somin, filed this case on April 14 in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) on behalf of five American small businesses harmed by the tariffs. The CIT held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not give the President unlimited unilateral authority to impose tariffs on the American people whenever he wants, at whatever level he wants, for whatever countries and products he wants, and for as long as he wants.

The government appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where the Liberty Justice Center was joined by leading appellate lawyers and constitutional scholars, Judge Michael W. McConnell and Neal Katyal. And on August 29, in a 7–4 decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed the CIT’s decision, holding that IEEPA does not authorize the President’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs. The Supreme Court will now decide whether to affirm those rulings.

Recognizing the urgency of the matter, the Supreme Court has now set this case on an expedited schedule, with oral argument to take place the first week of November.

“We are confident that the Supreme Court, like the CIT and the Federal Circuit, will recognize that the President does not have unilateral tariff power under IEEPA,” said Jeffrey Schwab, Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center. “Congress, not the President alone, has the constitutional power to impose tariffs.”

The issues in the case are covered in much greater detail in our various legal filings (see the Liberty Justice Center site for a compilation), and in my earlier writings about this litigation.

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