Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said the law clearly gave the president the authority to make decisions “regulating imports and exports,” while discussing a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling against President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Host Kristen Welker said, “Congress has the power to impose taxes. Do you agree with the court’s ruling that ultimately, the ability to impose tariffs lies with Congress?”
Lankford said, “This is actually going to go to the Supreme Court next because the way the law is actually written is the law gives the authority to the president to be able to make decisions regulating imports and exports. What the president is saying is tariffs is a way to be able to regulate imports and exports.”
He added, “To be very clear, what he is trying to do is to try to get more manufacturing into the United States, to get other countries to be able to open up their markets to American products and to be able to cut our deficit. Those are the three targets he’s trying to accomplish, and he is accomplishing all three of those. We have ten trade deals that have now been done in seven very short months with major countries like the EU and UK and Philippines, with Indonesia, South Korea, Japan. These are enormous trade agreements that have happened and so for the court to step in and say hey, doesn’t have the ability to be able to regulate trade, that’s within the statute and now going to go to the Supreme Court to be able to determine that.”
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