Trump Treasury Sec Scolds ‘Gloating Democrats’ and Media After SCOTUS Ruling: ‘Let’s Be Clear…’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved swiftly to contain the fallout from Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down key pillars of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime, rebuking “gloating Democrats” and the “ill-informed media” as he vowed to press ahead using alternative powers.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Dallas, Bessent sought to reframe the 6-3 decision, which found that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) did not authorise the president to impose the tariffs.

“President Trump will always put our national security and Americans first and as I have said before the president has multiple tools in his toolbox,” he began.

He continued: “Let’s be clear about what today’s ruling was and what it wasn’t, despite the misplaced gloating from Democrats, ill-informed media outlets, and the very people who gutted our industrial base, the court did not rule against President Trump’s tariffs. Six justices simply ruled that IEPA authorities cannot be used to raise even $1 of revenue.”

The court’s majority concluded that tariff-setting power during peacetime rests with Congress, delivering a blow to one of Trump’s most expansive assertions of executive authority since returning to office. The tariffs, initially aimed at Mexico, Canada and China before broad global expansion, had been justified as a response to drug trafficking and trade imbalances.

Bessent echoed Trump to insist the administration would “invoke alternative legal authorities to replace the AIPA tariffs,” citing Sections 232 and 301.

Noting that he had not changed a word of his speech post-ruling, he added: “Treasury’s estimates show that the use of Section 122 authority combined with potentially enhanced Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs will result in virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026.”

Watch above via C-SPAN.

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