Trump Replaces Old Illegal Tariffs With New Illegal Tariffs

This week, Reason reporter Eric Boehm joins editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision striking down President Donald Trump’s “emergency” tariffs. They examine the major questions doctrine, Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurring opinion, and whether the ruling meaningfully restrains executive power or just invites years of new litigation. The panel also considers what the decision means for businesses and foreign governments that rushed to cut deals, and they talk about what Trump’s irritated response reveals about his next moves.

They then turn to the Middle East, where a rapid buildup of U.S. military forces has raised fresh fears of a possible war with Iran and renewed debate over how to respond to hostile regimes pursuing nuclear weapons. A listener asks whether a libertarian dream matchup of Rand Paul versus Jared Polis could ever happen and what it would take to convince reluctant candidates to run. The editors also discuss AI, surveillance, and privacy in light of new reporting on how tech companies handle user data.

0:00–Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s tariffs
10:33–Congressional authority over tariff policy
24:22–Are we going to war with Iran?
36:52–The Winter Olympics
46:45–Listener question on Rand Paul vs. Jared Polis
54:22–AI surveillance and privacy concerns
1:05:22–Weekly cultural recommendations

Mentioned in This Podcast

“Trump’s New Tariffs Are Probably Illegal Too,” by Eric Boehm
“Why Trump’s Section 122 Tariffs Are Illegal,” by Andrew McCarty
“Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated—and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News,” by the White House
“The Hawks Are Lying Us Into Yet Another Middle Eastern War,” by Matthew Petti
“The Trump Administration Plans To Deport Iranians Amid Deadly Crackdown in Iran,” by Matthew Petti

• Producer: Paul Alexander
• Video Editor: Ian Keyser