🌊 Are Trump’s Tariffs Numbered?

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Our apologies about the weekend newsletters: Our newsletter platform had a glitch that prevented them from going out. It then sent two versions of the Saturday story late on Sunday. We were disappointed, especially because the Saturday story was widely requested and a lot of time went into it. If you missed it – our deep-dive into claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria – you can read it here.

Good morning, Roca Nation. Here are today’s four need-to-know stories:

Lawmakers reached a deal on Sunday to end the longest government shutdown in US history
US consumer confidence fell to its second-lowest level ever (free)
The Trump Administration instructed states to undo some of the food stamp payments they had already issued
The Nasdaq fell roughly 3% last week, marking its worst performance since early April (free)

By Max Frost

On April 2, President Trump declared “Liberation Day.” Citing a national emergency over the trade deficit, Trump invoked IEEPA, a 1977 law, to apply tariffs to over 100 countries.

In the months that followed, Trump leveraged those tariffs to extract concessions from and negotiate deals with a slate of major trading partners. By last month, around half of imports into the US were subject to tariffs. This is bringing billions into the government: The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) reports that tariffs generated $195B in FY 2025, more than double the total from FY 2024.

Trump and his backers celebrated those figures as proof that tariffs can lower the deficit, bring back manufacturing, and improve American security. Yet looming over it all was a major question: Was it legal?

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments as to whether Trump had the right to enact tariffs without Congress’ permission. Trump called the case “literally, LIFE OR DEATH for our Country.”

Today, we examine the case before the court, the arguments around it, which way the Court seems likely to go, and the implications of the forthcoming ruling.

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