which supreme court justices voted for tariffs
In the recent tariffs case about President Donald Trump’s sweeping global import duties, the Supreme Court split 6–3, with a clear divide between those who struck down the tariffs and those who would have upheld them.
Quick Scoop
Who voted against the tariffs?
These six justices formed the majority and ruled that Trump did not have the legal authority under the 1977 emergency law (IEEPA) to impose such broad global tariffs without clearer approval from Congress.
- Chief Justice John Roberts
- Justice Neil Gorsuch
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett
- Justice Sonia Sotomayor
- Justice Elena Kagan
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
In plain terms, they said tariffs of this scope are essentially a tax and that the Constitution gives that power to Congress unless Congress clearly hands it over, which they found had not happened here. Roberts’ opinion emphasized that the 1977 law Trump relied on “falls short” of the explicit congressional authorization needed for such sweeping duties.
Who voted for the tariffs?
These three justices were in the dissent and would have allowed Trump’s tariff program to stand.
- Justice Clarence Thomas
- Justice Samuel Alito
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Kavanaugh’s dissent argued that the decision does not necessarily stop a president from imposing similar tariffs under other statutes and warned that the ruling constrains presidential flexibility in trade and foreign affairs.
At a glance: votes on tariffs
Below is a compact view of which Supreme Court justices voted for tariffs (to uphold them) versus against them (to strike them down):
| Justice | Position on Trump tariffs |
|---|---|
| John Roberts | Against tariffs (voted to strike them down) | [3][8][1]
| Neil Gorsuch | Against tariffs (voted to strike them down) | [3][1]
| Amy Coney Barrett | Against tariffs (voted to strike them down) | [8][1][3]
| Sonia Sotomayor | Against tariffs (voted to strike them down) | [1][3]
| Elena Kagan | Against tariffs (voted to strike them down) | [3][1]
| Ketanji Brown Jackson | Against tariffs (voted to strike them down) | [1][3]
| Clarence Thomas | For tariffs (voted to uphold them) | [3][1]
| Samuel Alito | For tariffs (voted to uphold them) | [1][3]
| Brett Kavanaugh | For tariffs (voted to uphold them) | [3][1]
Why this is trending now
- The ruling is being called a landmark limit on presidential power over trade, especially the use of emergency laws to reshape the global economy.
- Commentators note that several conservative justices (Roberts, Gorsuch, Barrett) crossed over to join the three liberals, signaling a growing willingness to rein in aggressive uses of presidential authority via the “major questions” doctrine.
- There’s active forum and social chatter on what this means for future tariffs, potential refunds of billions already collected, and how much freedom presidents will have to use tariffs as a go‑to policy tool.
In many online discussions, users are framing this as a clash between “strong executive power” and “Congress’s tax power,” with this case pushing the pendulum back toward Congress.
TL;DR: In the latest Supreme Court decision on Trump’s global tariffs, Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh voted for the tariffs; Roberts, Gorsuch, Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson voted against them and struck them down.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.