Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Learning Resources v. Trump, the challenges to the Trump Administration's "liberation day" tariffs. This is the first case in which the Supreme Court has heard oral argument on the merits of one of the Trump Administration's second-term initiatives, and is of great economic and political importance. It is also a case which could go either way, for reasons I explained here and in the Wall Street Journal.
At yesterday's oral argument, the justices were active and aggressive, posing challenging questions to all three of the advocates at argument. They showed significant skepticism of the government's arguments, as put forward by Solicitor General John Sauer, but also posed difficult questions to the attorneys representing the private and state respondents.
Over all, I think more justices showed more skepticism of the government's position, but the case remains difficult to call, as it represents a closer legal question than advocates on either side like to admit. It is also a case in which it may be difficult to rapidly produce a single rationale that commands at least five votes even if it appears that a majority of the Court is likely to vote against at least some of the liberation day tariffs.
