.jpg)
LINCOLN — Nebraska’s all-Republican congressional delegation split on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on many imported items.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Trump’s trade agenda, ruling that the tariffs he had issued under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act are illegal. In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said Congress holds the power to tax.
The Trump administration’s argument that trade deficits and illegal drug imports granted it the emergency power to levy tariffs was not justified, the court ruled. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods.
Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he feels “vindicated.” He has spent weeks criticizing the tariffs and said he does not think tariffs “are smart economic policy.”
“The Constitution’s checks and balances still work,” Bacon said. “Article One gives tariff authority to Congress. This was a common-sense and straightforward ruling by the Supreme Court.”
Bacon was one of a handful of Republicans who joined House Democrats in killing an effort from House GOP leadership to change the chamber’s rules and delay for months any vote on canceling Trump’s tariffs. Bacon also proposed a measure that would have more clearly clawed back Congress’s tariff authority.
Bacon had previously voted for a budget blueprint that included rules language that prevented votes to repeal Trump’s tariffs until September of last year. He told the Examiner he voted for that after being asked to do so by Speaker Mike Johnson and was reassured that House Republicans would meet to discuss tariff policies.
“We have met once since then,” Bacon said. “Since September, it has become clear that the House can no longer avoid the tariff debate. It must do its Article One job.”
While the Supreme Court ruled against Trump on Friday, many imports are still subject to steep tariffs as part of the president’s international trade war, according to a New York Times analysis.
Trump, in a Friday news conference hours after the ruling, called the ruling a “terrible decision.” The president said he would impose global 10% tariffs under a provision of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to unilaterally apply tariffs for up to 150 days.
Bacon said he thinks those tariffs are unconstitutional, too. He said Trump has to “work through Congress, [which] he doesn’t want to do.”
Bacon joked Trump has to go to Congress for “even $1,” referring to part of Trump’s comments after the ruling.
U.S. Rep. Mike Flood told the Examiner that he had expected the Supreme Court to rule this way because the court hinted how it felt during oral arguments in the case, saying it was a “little bit telegraphed.”
Flood, R-Neb., said Americans must “respect the rule of law,” but he said he is confident that Congress and Trump can continue the “forward progress” on trade efforts that the GOP has made.
“I would hate for us to take a step backward,” Flood said. “We’ve already opened up access to Nebraska beef in places like Great Britain. This underscores Congress’s role in setting tariffs, and it’s incumbent upon us to make sure we make forward progress on our trading relationships.”
Agriculture has hit a rough patch. Just recently, two former Nebraska agricultural leaders signed a bipartisan letter to Congress expressing concerns about the state of the nation’s farm economy, as Nebraska Public Media News reported.
GOP U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska’s rural, sprawling 3rd Congressional District, said in a statement “we must ensure our trading partners uphold the market access commitments already secured and continue advancing policies which promote fair competition worldwide.”
Nebraska U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said he is “confident the President will continue to work on trade deals that open new markets, provide certainty and benefit Americans and Nebraskans first.”
Nebraska GOP U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer had no comment.
