Rand Paul Celebrates Supreme Court Ruling Striking Down Trump's Tariffs: 'In Defense Of Our Republic'

Republican Sen. Rand Paul celebrated the Supreme Court ruling striking down President Donald Trump's tariffs, saying it comes "in defense of our Republic."

In a social media publication, Paul said that the ruling "will also prevent a future President such as AOC from using emergency powers to enact socialism."

"The Supreme Court makes plain what should have been obvious: "The power to impose tariffs is "very clearly a branch of the power to tax," he added in another post.

The ruling represents a major blow to the president, claiming he exceeded his authority by imposing sweeping tariffs while using a law reserved for a national emergency.

The 6-3 vote takes down many tariffs, but not all of them. NBC News noted that he could still reimpose some tariffs using other laws.

Authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the ruling notes that the administration "asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope," but it "points to no statute" in which the tariffs are permitted under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

In consequence, "we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs," reads a passage of the ruling.

The outlet noted that companies that had to pay tariffs could seek a refund from the Treasury Department. The court didn't address the issue directly, but justice Brett Kavanaugh, who dissented, said the impact on the U.S. Treasury could be significant. Several companies had already filed lawsuits over the tariffs. A coalition of states led by Oregon also sued.

"The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers," he wrote.

Trump had warned against such an outcome, saying that "without tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now."