If the Supreme Court thinks it can kneecap President Trump’s tariff strategy and walk away unscathed, the White House has a message: nice try.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett made it clear Friday that the Trump administration is already locked, loaded, and ready with a Plan B if the high court strikes down the president’s tariffs — and it won’t take long to deploy.
Speaking on Fox News, Hassett said the administration could immediately impose a 10% tariff to recover most of the economic leverage currently in place. And that’s just the opening move.
From there, the White House could pivot to well-established legal authorities that past presidents have used — but rarely with Trump’s effectiveness. Hassett pointed to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which targets unfair and discriminatory trade practices, as well as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, designed to address national security threats.
In other words: the toolbox is full.
“These authorities can basically backfill what we’ve already achieved in these great deals with countries,” Hassett said, referring to the trade agreements Trump extracted from foreign governments using tariffs as leverage — something Washington elites claimed was impossible until Trump did it.
He doubled down on CNBC, noting that there are “a lot of other legal authorities” that would allow the administration to reproduce those deals quickly and decisively. The message couldn’t be clearer: the policy isn’t going away, even if one legal avenue gets blocked.
Trump’s tariffs have been central to his broader strategy of rebalancing global trade, confronting adversaries, pressuring allies to carry their weight, and — inconveniently for critics — putting American workers first. Naturally, that success has landed the policy in court.
Opponents argue that the tariffs amount to a tax on Americans and therefore require congressional approval — a claim that conveniently ignores decades of precedent and the president’s constitutional authority over foreign affairs and national security.
The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case November 5, after lower courts claimed Trump exceeded his authority. The justices have scheduled Tuesday as the next opinion day, raising the stakes for a ruling that could either affirm executive power or handcuff it.
While the administration remains optimistic that the court will rule in Trump’s favor, Hassett acknowledged the White House is preparing for all outcomes — something critics might consider prudent if they weren’t so busy rooting against American leverage abroad.
Trump himself didn’t mince words earlier this week, warning that unwinding the tariffs would have severe consequences for national security.
“Remember, when America shines brightly, the World shines brightly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!”
Hyperbole? Maybe. But the underlying point is unmistakable: tariffs aren’t just about trade — they’re about power, security, and whether the United States governs itself or lets foreign competitors do it for us.
And no matter what the courts decide, the Trump administration isn’t planning to surrender any of that quietly.
