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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he left the Supreme Court on Wednesday, encouraged by the justices’ questioning during arguments over President Donald Trump’s use of emergency tariff authority. He told FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow he believes the administration’s trade policy will be upheld.
Bessent attended the hearing with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials. He said he expects the court to affirm Trump’s authority to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA.
Asked how the administration would return duties already collected if the court were to strike down the tariffs, Bessent replied, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, and I’m confident we won’t have to.”
Speaking at the White House later, Bessent said the hearing “went very well.”
“The solicitor general made a very powerful case for the need for the president to have the power,” he said, adding that the attorneys challenging the tariffs “fell flat on their face.”
Bessent declined to describe any backup plan in the event the administration loses the case. “We’re not going to discuss it now,” he said, while expressing confidence that the tariffs will stand.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday referred to two tariff-related cases set for Supreme Court arguments as vital to the nation’s economic and national security, calling the outcome “life or death for our Country.”
“Tomorrow’s United States Supreme Court case is, literally, LIFE OR DEATH for our Country. With a Victory, we have tremendous, but fair, Financial and National Security. Without it, we are virtually defenseless against other Countries who have, for years, taken advantage of us,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Our Stock Market is consistently hitting Record Highs, and our Country has never been more respected than it is right now. A big part of this is the Economic Security created by Tariffs, and the Deals that we have negotiated because of them,” President Trump said in his post.
Bessent previously stated that if the court strikes down the IEEPA approach, the administration will “simply switch” to other authorities, including Section 122, which allows short-term tariffs of up to 15 percent, and Section 338, which permits duties of up to 50 percent.