For many of us, the arguments before the Supreme Court yesterday seem obscure and fuzzy, to say the least. But this case is about more than tariffs on all the stuff we buy from abroad. It is really a case about the limits of presidential power.
The Justices focused on the language of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), first passed in 1977, then amended in 1988 to protect print, audio, and video media from being regulated. The Justices seem to have focused on whether the tariffs collected constitute a tax, which only Congress has the power to regulate.
Vagueness of the statutory language is an issue. The Court’s conservative majority denied Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and stopped certain Covid vaccine and testing requirements on the grounds that the statues used to undergird those moves were vague. The Court said in those cases there are limits to presidential power. Will it do so in this case?
Prayer for the Day
As we await decisions from courts established to protect our freedoms,
Ah, dear God, we ask, will politics or law rule the day?
Seeing how some in positions of power use their authority,
We wonder what has happened to us as a Nation.
Remembering those who pledged their lives and fortunes for freedom,
May we also pledge our sacred honor to uphold their legacy.
In the name of the One who calls us to courage,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. …For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
From The Declaration of Independence (1776)
Counsel, we have never applied it [IEEPA] to foreign affairs, but this is a tariff. This is a tax.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the Supreme Court, November 5, 2025
And in fact, you know, we’ve had cases recently which deal with the president’s emergency powers. And it turns out we’re in emergencies - everything all the time, about, like, half the world.
Justice Elena Kagan at the Supreme Court, November 5, 2025
How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
Proverbs 16: 16