Director of SIU Paul Simon Public Policy Institute reacts to Supreme Court ruling on tariffs

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - In southern Illinois, a political analyst said he is shocked by Friday’s Supreme Court ruling and said it could be a major setback for the administration.

John Shaw is the director of the Southern Illinois University Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and covered politics in Washington, D.C. for 25 years.

He said Friday’s ruling was particularly shocking given the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.

“This court has a 6/3 conservative majority. They have largely supported administration policies to the surprise of many,” said Shaw.

But the biggest question is, why did the Supreme Court issue this ruling that Shaw considers a significant setback for Trump’s second term?

“It goes against traditional Republican policy in terms of trade. So this is a serious rebuke of Trump’s economic agenda. And coming from a conservative leaning supreme court? This is a significant blow,” said Shaw.

But after President Trump’s press conference on Friday, Shaw said Trump will not let the Supreme Court stand in his way.

“You know, calling them names that I don’t think a president has ever publicly called Supreme Court justices before, and has said he will find another way to impose tariffs, so he said his policy will largely go forward and find another statute to impose these tariffs,” said Shaw.

As President Trump moves forward with looking for a new loophole to impose tariffs, Shaw said that Americans are fed up with rising costs, and this ruling could be the Supreme Court’s response to the American people.

“Many economists believe that this so-called affordability crisis that is gripping the nation with prices high on so many products is in some way linked to the President’s tariff policy,” said Shaw.

But this ruling could also have helped the Trump Administration in the long run.

“Some people believe that the supreme court savved the administration from itself from a series of economic policies that are not necessarily good for the country,” said Shaw.

So what’s next? Shaw said President Trump will not let tariffs go down without a fight.

“I think that the President now sees this as a personal struggle. It’s not like he’s going to back down. He even said in his press conference that he is going to find other authorities to impose tariffs, and he suggested they may even be higher than they would have been before this ruling,” said Shaw.

The Trump administration argues that tariffs are different because they’re a major part of Trump’s approach to foreign affairs, an area where the courts should not be second-guessing the president.