Tipsheet

President Trump Lays Into the Supreme Court Over Their Tariff Ruling

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  April 21, 2026 1:30 PM

President Trump tore into the Supreme Court on CNBC’s "Squawk Box" Tuesday over its decision to overturn his Liberation Day tariffs, a ruling that has forced the government to begin refunding the tariffs plus interest. Not only did he blast the decision, but lamented the fact that the majority had refused to say that the administration could keep the tariff revenue. The president also said that he expects to be disappointed again when the Court rules on the issue of birthright citizenship.

"We had a little setback with the Supreme Court. They said I can charge tariffs, but I have to do it a different way. And because of what they did, we have to pay back $160 billion," the president said. "All they had to do is add one sentence, just one sentence, and that's: you don't have to pay anything taken in thus far back. But because they didn't add, and by the way, it was a close call too, there were justices that were powerful that I was right on the tariffs. But because we lost by just two votes, you know, just little vote, two votes, we have to pay back $165 billion."

"They could have, with a little one sentence, you don't have to pay back tariffs that have already been received."

"We're going to end up with the same. Actually, we'll end up with bigger numbers, actually, but it's a little more unwieldy, but it's the way it's been done," he added. "But it's so sad that the Supreme Court didn't want to save our country with one sentence, $165 billion, and we're giving a lot of that money back to people that hate our country. So I'm not happy with the Supreme Court, I'll be honest with you."

This comes after companies subject to tariffs were, just yesterday, allowed to request refunds from Customs and Border Protection. The scale of those refunds is expected to be enormous, prompting the government to lay out the process in phases. As of yesterday, only certain companies with unliquidated entries and entries made within 80 days of the end of the tariffs are eligible to apply for a refund.

The president also said he does not expect the Court to side with him in restricting birthright citizenship.

This comes shortly after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on restricting birthright citizenship, an issue on which several justices appeared hesitant to take a firm position. One of the main concerns raised by conservative justices was that the administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment may not align with the amendment’s original intent. 

Conservative law professor Jonathan Turley argued that the views expressed by conservative justices are to be expected given their judicial philosophy and suggested that resolving the issue may ultimately require another constitutional amendment.