(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Thursday lashed out at federal judges who have blocked President Donald Trump from being able to impose global tariffs — a key part of his second-term agenda.
Trump, who has a long history of going after judges whose rulings he disagrees with, as of Thursday afternoon had yet to weigh in on two courts deeming some of his tariffs as “unlawful.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, though, opened her briefing with a lengthy attack on the legal setbacks. She called it “judicial overreach” and called on the nation’s highest court to step in.
“These judges are threatening to undermine the credibility of the United States on the world stage,” Leavitt said. “The administration has already filed an emergency motion for a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay to strike down this egregious decision. But ultimately, the Supreme Court must put an end to this for the sake of our Constitution and our country.”
The Court of International Trade on Wednesday struck down Trump’s global tariffs as “contrary to law.” A federal appeals court is temporarily delaying the ruling while the administration challenges the ruling, reinstating the policy for now.
The three-judge panel had found the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump leaned on to enact his tariffs, does not give him the “unlimited” power to impose the levies he has in recent months. They said it the authority for most tariffs rests with Congress, and Trump’s tariffs don’t constitute “unusual and extraordinary threat” that would allow him to act unilaterally.
Leavitt criticized the panel as “activist judges” despite its three members being appointed to the bench by three different presidents: Trump, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan.
“The president’s rationale for imposing these powerful tariffs was legally sound and grounded in common sense,” she said. “President Trump correctly believes that America cannot function safely longterm if we are unable to scale advanced domestic manufacturing capacity, have our own secure, critical supply chains, and our defense industrial base is dependent on foreign adversaries.”
“Three judges of the U.S. Court of International Trade disagreed and brazenly abused their judicial power to usurp the authority of President Trump, to stop him from carrying out the mandate that the American people gave him,” she added.
Leavitt also touted the Republican-controlled Senate declining a bipartisan measure put forward to block Trump’s tariffs. That measure failed by the slimmest of margins in a 49-49 vote.
“Following Liberation Day, Congress firmly rejected an effort led by Senator Rand Paul and Democrats to terminate the president’s reciprocal tariffs. The courts should have no role here,” she argued.
When Trump announced his long-anticipated “Liberation Day” tariffs against nearly all U.S. trading partners in early April, he deemed chronic trade deficits a national emergency that “threatens our security and our very way of life.”
Since then, he’s often changed or delayed the tariff rates originally set out, often resulting in market turmoil. A 90-day pause on the higher, so-called “reciprocal” levies instituted so Trump could work on trade deals is set to expire in early July.
ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott asked the White House if its actively reviewing other methods to implement Trump’s tariff agenda in light of the court orders.
“The president’s trade policy will continue. We will comply with the court orders. But yes, the president has other legal authorities where he can implement tariffs,” Leavitt said.
“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Leavitt said.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
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