The IEPA ruling.
Yesterday on this reporter's daily news article a member posted the following:
"Judge Gary Stephen Katzmann ... appointed by Obama
Judge Timothy M. Reif ... appointed by Trump
Judge Jane Ann Restani ... appointed by Reagan
My guess when this gets appealed to SCOTUS is a 7-2 loss for Mr. Teflon. "
All four lines of that are correct, including the SCOTUS prediction. The fact is that the Court of International Trade has seldom if ever made such a call on trade. Of course, we know what is suddenly different, it's the fact that the President's name is Donald Trump. The New York Times, which I force myself to read each morning made the following claim:
"At face value, the Constitution seems clear on this topic. It says Congress, not the president, has the power to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.” And tariffs are taxes.
But Congress can delegate some powers to the president."
Trump’s Tariffs and the Courts - The New York Times
Trump complains that congress has for many years now deferred to the President on tariffs. While that may be true, as we all know when it comes to President Trump every iota of the law must be followed. Thus, this issue may rest with the bitterly divided congress now somewhat under the control of Republicans. They can and should do something so that Trump's trade policy is not undermined. In the meantime the IEPA ruling does not cover all of Trump's tariffs, such as cars etc, and at the very least they may have saved Trump from himself.
In other news:
The U.S. sent an Israeli-backed cease-fire proposal to Hamas. Hamas suggested that it didn’t contain strong-enough guarantees on ending the war.
Germany, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has confirmed it will provide Ukraine with a new €5 billion military aid package that includes long-range Taurus KEPD 350 air-launched cruise missiles, with transfers planned for this year. This decision marks a significant policy shift, following Germany and the US quietly backing Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons. The Taurus, with its 500 km range and precision-guided, hardened-target-penetrating warhead, will enhance Ukraine's ability to hit high-value Russian military assets far behind the front lines. Russia has condemned the move as a "very dangerous trend."
The Trump administration canceled a $600 million contract with Moderna to develop a bird flu vaccine for humans. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, has repeatedly questioned the safety of mRNA, the technology behind the vaccines.
DOGE says the government has saved people billions by reversing rules on credit card fees and appliance standards.
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Plano, Texas calling:
Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old from Plano, Texas, was crowned this year’s National Spelling Bee Champion. Yesterday’s final marked the close of the competition’s 100th anniversary.
His winning word: éclaircissement.
The President's response:
And with this bit of insanity, Supreme Court justices and other federal judges contemplating retirement just became much more likely to try and stay rather than trust trump to pick a replacement.
90% of trumps issues could be resolved if congress simply supported him. Why he doesn’t hold them to account for not doing their job and instead blames the court for doing theirs is beyond me,
I assume it is because the long-divided congress has been so impotent.
The ravings of a lunatic should only be posted to mock them.
I take it that you don't agree with him.
The only mistake is using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If you pay attention to the language used, they are being called reciprocal tariffs. For some reason that gets overlooked in the mad dash to a tantrum by the left.
The reciprocal tariffs are authorized under the Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1934. This was singed into law on June 12, 1934, the RTAA represented a fundamental shift in U.S. trade policy. The Constitution gives Congress the right to regulate foreign commerce and establish tariff rates. Under the RTAA, Congress granted the president the right to decrease or increase U.S. tariffs.
Since it's signing into law, this has not been amended and still stands today. The Court of International Trade, Congress, or anybody else has no say in this matter.
That sounds fairly solid.
But trump cited the The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 as the legal basis for these tariffs. If he wants to use that statute he’ll have to issue a different order.
of course, if congress actually acted on trumps request all of this would be avoided.
The question then becomes of how many Republicans actually are in line with Trump's trade policy.
And as I stated, that was the mistake.
The RTAA delegation of power is temporary and has restrictions that the the IEEPA doesn't, which is why he tried using IEEPA.
Not enough to pass Congress. Trump should work on that.
The status of the Big Beautiful Bill.
Here are the eight ways Republican senators are split on the current version of the bill.
1. Medicaid provisions
The House bill would impose strict new rules to maintain eligibility for Medicaid, which would require adult recipients to document at least 80 hours per month of employment or approved volunteer activities, with narrow exemptions that would include pregnant women.
2. Clean energy tax breaks
The House proposal would eliminate incentives for wind, solar, and geothermal projects established by Democrats in 2022, unless developers break ground within two months of the legislation’s enactment.
The change is dividing Republicans, given that many red states benefit from the incentives. Sens. Murkowski, Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Curtis (R-UT), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) raised concerns about the change in a letter to Thune last month.
3. Spending
Although certain GOP senators have reservations about the level of spending reductions in the House plan, the fiscal hawks of the Senate are advocating even deeper cuts.
To make up for the decline in tax income, House Republicans pushed at least $1 trillion in cuts targeting Medicaid, food assistance, and reductions in green energy initiatives. However, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a leading fiscal conservative, said the bill doesn't go far enough.
4. The state and local tax deduction
Several House Republicans representing high-tax states withheld their support for the bill unless it included provisions to let their constituents claim larger deductions for state and local taxes on their federal tax returns.
Senate Republicans appear to be split on whether to uphold the deal Speaker Johnson struck with House Republicans from New York, New Jersey, and California to increase the limit on state and local tax deductions from $10,000 to $40,000. Some are pushing to remove the SALT provision entirely.
5. Permanent tax cuts
Many Republican senators want to make many of the tax cuts permanent, while the House bill has shorter time frames for many of its cuts.
Thune, along with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), who is heavily involved in shaping the bill as Finance Committee chairman, has made it clear they want to ensure several business tax incentives become permanent.
6. A boosted child tax credit
The House bill would raise the child tax credit temporarily from $2,000 to $2,500 per qualifying child for tax years 2025 through 2028. After 2028, the credit would revert to $2,000, adjusted for inflation.
Several GOP senators including Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Hawley are pushing to make the credit even larger.
7. Artificial intelligence
The House bill’s artificial intelligence provision would halt state-level oversight of AI for 10 years, barring enforcement of any existing or forthcoming laws. The section of the bill includes the ban alongside a $500 million funding allocation over that time period aimed at modernizing government operations with AI and automation.
Although the provision received broad support from Republicans during a House subcommittee session on May 21, two prominent GOP senators have recently spoken out against it.
8. The debt limit
The legislation passed by the House features a $4 trillion boost to the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has cautioned that the federal government could exhaust its funds and be unable to meet financial obligations by August if lawmakers fail to intervene.
Republicans are working to pass the debt limit increase within the legislation through a party-line vote that would extend borrowing authority beyond the 2026 election, avoiding the need to negotiate terms with Democrats.
Eight provisions in the ‘big, beautiful bill’ the Senate may change
Trump must have an AI money making scam in the works.
He's a devil alright!
This is insane. If Republicans in New York and Democrats would rather raise taxes on everyone to protect a an extra break for a small group of wealthy taxpayers and subsidize blue state governments, let them. No Republican from a state that doesn't bleed its taxpayers should subsidize those that do.
They are overly concerned about getting reelected.
"CNN’s Jake Tapper , the co-author of the bestseller Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again called out the legal action taken against Donald Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg during a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith , deeming it “problematic.”
Jake Tapper Slams 'Problematic' Lawfare Against Trump
It was probably the best thing that could have happened to Trump, politically. Obviously partisan legal actions that rightly had zero credibility or legitimacy in the eyes of the public cemented his status as an outsider being persecuted by a corrupt swamp, which is his entire brand.
Love it when a commentator uses 'Problematic' in their attempt to stay 'middle of the road'. In other words, the headline should read "Jake Tapper Slams Bullshit Lawfare Against Trump".
C'mon Jake. Tell us how your really feel. Your attempt at being objective falls flat when using that term.
President Donald Trump and Paramount Global are still at an impasse as they attempt to resolve his $20 billion lawsuit against the company through mediation.
Fox News Digital confirmed that Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit, according to a source familiar with the matter. The president's legal team is also demanding at least $25 million and an apology from CBS News. Trump's attorneys even floated another lawsuit against the company.
Trump rejects Paramount's $15 million offer to settle CBS News lawsuit, demands apology