I attended the oral argument in the tariff case. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent sat a few rows behind me, right next to Secretary of the Commerce Howard Lutnick. Every now and then, I turned around to look at Bessent and the other politicos. He was paying very close attention, and didn't doze off.
Now, Bessent seems to have some information we do not. Bessent told Fox Business that the ruling would likely come in January. If Bessent is right, the opinions in that case must be nearing completion. Yet, based on the oral argument in Slaughter, the tariff case is very much on the Justices' minds. These two cases may be landmark rulings for the separation of powers. In Slaughter, both Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett brought up the tariff case by name, and Justice Gorsuch called back to his questions from that sitting. Plus Solicitor General Sauer tried as hard as he could to avoid any discussion of the non-delegation doctrine and the major questions doctrine. If Bessent is right, then the Justices are just thinking out loud. But something tells me that the tariff case is not quite settled yet. As I wrote after that argument, counting to five may be tricky.
First, Justice Barrett recalled Justice Gorsuch's question concerning legislative vetoes:
