George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle” that President Donald Trump has the authority to hit other countries with reciprocal tariffs.
A three-judge panel on the New York-based Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that the president could not use his executive powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports. While discussing the ruling, Fox host Laura Ingraham told Turley that the tariffs could “withstand judicial scrutiny,” as previous tariffs from Trump’s first administration were upheld after being dragged through court.
“Correct. The fact is the administration wanted to try this approach. This was a three-point shot, and they hit the rim because the courts just don’t see it. But he has authority, and that’s one of the reasons why these negotiations are likely to go forward. Other countries are very sophisticated. They know what authority he has. They know that he can now turn, as he did in his first term, to pursue those,” Turley said.
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“They’re not particularly onerous, he can really do that and make relatively fast work of it. Now, Congress may also want to be equally nimble here,” Turley added. “The important thing is that Trump has been using these tariffs like a gun to the head of these other countries, and the court just removed the bullets.”
Within the court’s ruling, the federal panel stated that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, used under Trump when implementing the tariffs, does not authorize “the Worldwide, Retaliatory, or Trafficking Tariff Orders.”
The ruling comes after the Trump administration received a handful of lawsuits over the president’s April “Liberation Day,” during which he announced that a baseline tariff of 10% would be imposed on a list of countries, with others receiving a higher rate based on their tariffs against the U.S.
Shortly after the announcement, Trump decided to place a 90-day pause on all tariffs—except for those on China due to its retaliation against the United States.
Turley went on to say that Congress has already “refused” to undo Trump’s tariffs within a Senate bill, referring to a bipartisan measure introduced in April to restrict the president’s power to impose tariffs without congressional approval.
“The fact is that Congress can come in, even if they don’t like the tariffs, and say ‘Look, we’re in this now. We don’t want to undermine the president. We want to see these deals completed and see if they can also signal support.’ Now, keep in mind, recently Congress refused to undo the tariffs in a Senate bill, so they’ve already had that vote.”
On April 30, the Senate deadlocked in a 49-49 vote on a measure to restrict Trump’s authority over tariffs, falling short of the majority needed for passage.
The Trade Review Act of 2025, introduced earlier that month by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, sought to require congressional approval for tariffs by mandating a simple majority vote within 60 days of their implementation.
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