Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
IsThis

POLITICS

The Claim

Donald Trump imposed new tariffs immediately after a Supreme Court ruling struck down his authority to do so.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

The claim is misleading. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs imposed under IEEPA — but the new tariffs he announced shortly after were imposed under a completely different legal authority (Section 122 of the Trade Act), which the Court never invalidated. Saying the Court "struck down his authority to do so" falsely implies he acted in defiance of the ruling. Additionally, while Trump signed the new order the same day, the tariffs didn't take effect until days later, making "immediately imposed" an overstatement.

Caveats

  • The Supreme Court ruling only struck down tariffs imposed under IEEPA; Trump's new tariffs used Section 122 of the Trade Act, a separate legal authority the Court did not address.
  • Trump signed the new tariff order on the same day as the ruling, but the tariffs did not take effect until the following Tuesday — 'immediately imposed' overstates the timeline.
  • Other tariff authorities (e.g., Section 232) also remained intact after the ruling, so the post-decision tariff landscape was more complex than the claim suggests.

The Receipts

  1. Supreme Court strikes down Trump's sweeping tariffs - AP News

    AP News

  2. Supreme Court strikes down tariffs - SCOTUSblog

    SCOTUSblog

  3. Supreme Court Strikes Down President Trump's Tariffs - Tax Foundation

    Tax Foundation

  4. Supreme Court Invalidates President Trump's Tariffs - Gibson Dunn

    Gibson Dunn

  5. Tariff Tracker: Impact of Trump Tariffs & Trade War by the Numbers - Tax Foundation

    Tax Foundation

  6. Trump illegally used executive power to impose global tariffs, supreme court rules

    The Guardian

  7. Trump increases global tariffs to 15% after Supreme Court decision | PBS News

    PBS News

  8. The Supreme Court Clipped Trump's Tariff Powers—and Opened New Trade Battles | Council on Foreign Relations - CFR.org

    Council on Foreign Relations - CFR.org

  9. Brookings experts on the Supreme Court's tariff decision

    Brookings

  10. What's Next for Trump's Tariffs After SCOTUS Ruling - Time Magazine

    Time Magazine

+ 2 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Donald TrumpU.S. Supreme Court

More Fact Checks