President Donald Trump announced Friday he will not ask Congress to vote on imposing his tariffs following the Supreme Court's decision striking them down as unconstitutional. Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump made clear he sees no need for legislative action and intends to pursue alternative authorities instead.
"I don't have to," Trump said. "I have the right to do tariffs, and it's all been approved by Congress, so there's no reason to."
The Washington Examiner reported that the declaration came days after the House voted last week to repeal the president's tariffs on Canada, with six House Republicans joining almost every single Democrat to end the duty on Canadian goods.
Trump signaled the ruling won't slow his trade agenda, pointing to other tools at his disposal.
"Other alternatives will now be used to replace the ones that the court incorrectly rejected. We have alternatives. Great alternative, could be more money. We'll take in more money and be a lot stronger for it."
The House vote on Canada tariffs exposed a narrow fault line in the Republican conference. Three Republicans voted with all Democrats to stop an extension of a ban on tariff-repeal votes, which had been in place since last year and expired at the end of January. That procedural move opened the door for the full House to vote on repealing the Canada tariffs.
Trump downplayed the defections, though he misstated the number of Republicans who bucked him on the vote. Six House Republicans ultimately sided with Democrats.
"We lost two Republicans or three Republicans, because they're not good Republicans. We have great unity. There's great unity in the Republican Party."
Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republicans had previously said they wanted to defer on voting to repeal tariffs until the Supreme Court's ruling was decided, so as not to act prematurely. That strategy effectively shielded members from having to take a difficult vote for months. Now that the Court has ruled, the political cover is gone.
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, one of the Republicans who has vocally challenged the tariff approach, told the Washington Examiner he sees the Court's ruling as vindication.
"I've been saying this for 12 months. Article 1 gives Congress the authority for tariffs. Our constitutional checks and balances still work."
Bacon's argument is a straightforward textualist one: the Constitution assigns tariff authority to Congress, and no amount of executive creativity changes that foundational arrangement. It's the kind of argument that, in a different context, most conservatives would embrace without hesitation. The tension here isn't really about constitutional principle. It's about whether the trade policy goals justify the means used to pursue them.
Trump said he "would probably get it" if he went to Congress for a vote. Whether that's true remains untested, and the White House clearly has no interest in testing it.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wasted no time framing the ruling as a rebuke of what he called "Trump's harmful tariff regime."
"For more than a year, Republicans repeatedly blocked Democrats' efforts to overturn these clearly illegal taxes that have burdened American families."
It's a convenient talking point, but it deserves scrutiny. Democrats spent years cheering executive overreach when it served their policy goals. The idea that they suddenly discovered a passion for Article I authority on trade is about as convincing as their rediscovery of fiscal responsibility every time a Republican occupies the White House.
It remains unclear whether Democrats will continue to force votes on repealing Trump's tariffs against Mexico and Brazil. The Washington Examiner reached out to Meeks's office on the question. If Democrats truly believe this is a winning issue, they'll push forward. If they go quiet, it tells you everything about whether this was a principle or positioning.
The real story here isn't the Court ruling itself. It's what happens after it. Trump's promise of "great alternatives" that could bring in "more money" suggests the administration has already identified other statutory authorities or executive mechanisms to continue pursuing its trade agenda. The specifics remain to be seen, but the posture is unmistakable: this is a detour, not an off-ramp.
For congressional Republicans, the situation is more uncomfortable. The procedural ban that shielded members from tariff votes is gone.
Every trade measure that comes to the floor now requires a public vote and a public position. No more waiting for the Court to decide. No more deferring to the White House while quietly hoping the issue resolves itself.
Six Republicans already showed they're willing to break ranks on Canada. The question is whether that number grows when Mexico and Brazil come up, or whether the party closes ranks behind whatever alternative the administration rolls out next.
The Constitution won a round. The trade fight isn't over.
