Separation-of-Powers

For ninety years, a single 1935 precedent stood between the president and total control over the officials who regulate the economy: the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve, the National Labor Relations Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Presidents could not simply fire the people who ran these agencies because they disagreed with a ruling or wanted a loyalist in the seat. Congress built them to be insulated — for cause removal only, not at-will. On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ended that. And in the very same batch of opinions, it decided the rule didn’t apply to the one agency that matters most to financial markets. ...

On Tuesday, at a Baker Institute event at Rice University in Houston, Chief Justice John Roberts said something that needed to be said — out loud, in public, with cameras rolling. Personal attacks on judges, he declared, are “dangerous.” “It’s got to stop,” he said. ...

The Supreme Court ruled today — February 20, 2026 — that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the President the power to impose tariffs. The vote was 6-3. Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the majority. The Court’s most sweeping executive trade action in modern history has been struck down as unconstitutional overreach. The case is Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, consolidated with V.O.S. Selections v. United States. The ruling vacates the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs — the sweeping duties imposed in April 2025 on imports from dozens of countries — and remands the question of refunds to the U.S. Court of International Trade. More than $160 billion in IEEPA tariff revenue has been collected since January 2025. The fight over who gets it back, and how, is now just beginning. ...