As far as I can determine, Trump's supposed legal authority to impose these incredibly sweeping and destructive tariffs rest largely on the idea that trade deficits constitute a national emergency. How on earth is this remotely legitimate?
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Because the constitution was written on the assumption that everyone running the government would be a rich slave owning land holder and would all basically agree on most things because of class loyalty.
He's definitely neutered Johnson. Closing up shop was a panic move on his part. If his cell isn't blowing up like a bomb, I'd be shocked. Depending on if the market keeps "correcting", Johnson will be under pressure come Monday morning. Let's see how he responds.
Congress does have an option to cancel the emergency declaration and it’s working its way through right now. 4 Republicans joined Dems to advance it but Rs are trying to change some rules. I’m not hopeful but we’ll see.
The bigger issue is that this whole process is a blatant and obvious inversion of the congressional and presidential roles.
There is no emergency exception provision in the Constitution that allows this so-called "delegation" where Congress vests its legislative powers over taxes in the President.
Wrong, his legal authority stems from legal theory nobody will do anything to stop him. And since they haven’t yet I’d expect he’ll keep going until someone does.
Totally illegitimate. My colleague Professor Appleton pointed out similar problems with trying to tie tariffs to the purported fentanyl crisis. The case for a trade deficit "emergency" feels even more indefensible.
I mean, the order describes the trade deficit as “persistent” going back decades. Pretty much the opposite of an emergency, much less an unusual and extraordinary one. For potential definition of national emergency, here’s a rather dated explanation.
It’s not. It’s 100% a congressional power and responsibility, which they have abdicated to their cult leader. It can also be challenged in court, but the timeframe of that can leave the global economy in shambles.
the Senate has passes a resolution restricting his ability. It would pass in the house as well, but Mike Johnson won't bring it up for a vote. Call your congressman! (I did)
In the Schmittian times we are living through, the concept of legitimacy is undergoing reevaluation. It’s now based on friend-enemy thinking, the state of emergency, and the will of the leader.
How the hell is a criminal buffoon like Trump President? As long as he's considered a legitimate President, this is the level of dangerous nonsense we're stuck with.
Here is the thing Greg. NOTHING this clown says is legitimate. All of us would do better if we fully accepted the truth of this and quit being surprised over and over and over again by the same fucking thing.
We tolerated brazen lies and liars too long. We need to step up and reject it when the President takes incredibly damaging actions and pretends it's the response to some emergency that threatens us
Legitimacy doesn't matter when no one pushes back against the king. The only thing that matters is power and the willingness to wield it and it looks like the only group wielding it is the fascists because the Dems are ultimately fine with it as long as their personal comfort is maintained.
FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT….Get Republicans to buy a vowel, get a clue…ACT…OUR 401K’s, our retirement, our jobs, paychecks, our food, paying our bills…everything we know and understand…..EVERYTHING IS EVAPORATING!!!! FIGHT GODDAMNIT!!! Tell our reps to get off their asses and fight!
it isn't remotely legit unless the republicans in the congress roll along with it. I suspect the Lilly livered schlubs will need some feedback from their public about this.
Possibly thru a window tied to bricks and such if they refuse to have meetings.
Only Congress can do something. The Supremes will defer to Trump on the issue of national emergency. They did that with his “border emergency” in Trump I, even though he said out loud — multiple times — that it wasn’t really an emergency.
SCOTUS didn’t decide that one. They vacated the 9th Circuit opinion as moot with the agreement of the Biden Administration because Biden rescinded the border emergency. Of course, Trump revoked the rescission, whatever that might have accomplished.
I’m talking about when he shifted money to the border wall, claiming a national emergency. A lawsuit was filed to block it and the Supreme Court sided with Trump in a 2020 ruling.
That decision had to do with the reprogrammed funds from the DOD appropriations act, not the military construction funds shifted under emergency authority (10 USC § 2808). The Court didn’t decide the issue but stayed the lower court injunction. Then in 2020 SCOTUS denied motion to lift stay.
- illegally shutting down our Fed institutions that are the back bone to a democratic government and democratic economy, for the services and needs of the people it is supposed to represent, that authoritarians illegally seized and destroyed, to manufacture tax breaks for the themselves,
and profit making opportunities for themselves, to profit off the quality and safety of our environment, our communities, healthcare, food safety, systems that serve our healthcare & well being, services for the elderly, the poor,
veterans, children and vulnerable populations, and so much more. We built all these systems with our tax dollars in a contract of trust w/ our government. It belongs to us!
- now he’s adding tariffs against our allies and exempting a mass murdering war criminal, to create more economic chaos,
while the Treas Sec admits he has no idea what impact these tariff actions will have on American families, who they are TERRORIZING with their bullying and abusive, chaotic behaviors, while tanking the only savings most families have,
(because contrary to the doge wreckers, Americans are NOT fraudsters, the LYING to Americans about why doge is really there - is the FRAUD), - this is reckless, and abusive to do the American people.
So now that the courts have gotten rid of Chevron deference does this mean the judiciary gets to decide whether the Administration has properly interpreted the IEEPA? I mean, what's sauce for EPA should be sauce for the White House.
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(I’m suggesting we call it that so it gets banned.)
Johnson sent everyone home.
Wonder why?
There is no emergency exception provision in the Constitution that allows this so-called "delegation" where Congress vests its legislative powers over taxes in the President.
In Trumps world, the only law applicable is Trumps law.
Which Saudis are in town?
https://www.reuters.com/world/senior-russian-official-visit-washington-this-week-cnn-reports-2025-04-01/
https://thelogic.co/news/canada-us-trade-war-fentanyl-legal-challenge/
Legitimate hasn’t been a thing since, oh, about January 5th.
It made a brief comeback from 2020 - 2024, but totally gone now.
DJT & CO have taken a pair of scissors to our economic nutsack & are cutting it clean off
Prong 1: slash/burn firings, clawbacks, shutdowns & defunding. Prong 2: tariffs, dollar deval/bitcoin resv/sovereign wealth fund & 180 alliance shifts
And they can also make up for failing to impeach him then by impeaching him now.
Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
Lord Acton
You may have thought it was slapped down right away.
But in truth. It's all that's existed since.
He wants to be a dictator, and the oligarchs behind him want it, too.
What’s remarkable is that THIS is not a “major question” that the courts would strike down and force Congress to say it again but even more loudly.
Possibly thru a window tied to bricks and such if they refuse to have meetings.
As are MANY of the things he’s doing.
1. Surround Self with Billionaires
2. Fire employees
3. Surrender to Putin
4. Abandon Allies
5. $5 Trillion in Tax Cuts for wealthy
6. Increase Debt by $5 Trillion
7. Raise sales taxes $600 Million annually
8. Cut Social Security
9. Slash Medicaid
10. Punish Disloyalty
- illegally laying of thousands of federal workers
- stripping contracts illegally from Fed institutions
- now he’s adding tariffs against our allies and exempting a mass murdering war criminal, to create more economic chaos,
Congress could pass a law restricting Trump except in the case of a Martian invasion and we’d be in our first interplanetary war within five minutes.