Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, a consistent skeptic of the president's favored trade tactic, praised the high court's ruling Friday — describing Trump's attempts to bypass Congress as "illegal" and adding that on matters affecting trade policies and American producers the executive should "convince their representatives under Article 1" of the Constitution.
"This goes beyond this case."Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
Sen. Rand Paul echoed McConnell's words, noting that the Supreme Court rejected Trump's use of emergency powers to justify the tariffs. He wrote that, "No future administration, including a socialist one, can use 'emergency powers' to get around Congress."
The Supreme Court defended the Constitution by rejecting the use of “emergency” powers to impose taxes. Tariffs are taxes and the power to declare them belongs to the Congress. This goes beyond this case. No future administration, including a socialist one, can use “emergency”…
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) February 20, 2026
The Bowling Green lawmaker has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the president's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, sometimes called IEEPA, to justify the tariffs. In his response to Friday's ruling, Paul also reiterated a point he made recently on the PDB podcast.
"The Constitution is pretty explicit. Taxes originate in the House, have to go to the Senate," he said. "It specifically even mentions duties and levies. It mentions tariffs in the Constitution, saying that they're the prerogative of the House."
Gov. Andy Beshear said the president did not have the authority to implement the tariffs and urged the discontinuation of the policies to "stop costs from continuing to rise."
Although Kentucky is home to some notable detractors, tariffs haven't been unpopular with lawmakers across the board. Last year, Congressman Andy Barr described the president's trade tactics as "jet fuel for the economy" that would ultimately create fairer international trade.
Following Friday's court decision, Barr wrote, "I fully support President Trump’s decision to reinstate tariffs. We cannot stand by while the Supreme Court undermines the America First trade agenda. Here in Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District, Apple didn’t just expand because of Trump’s strategy—they moved 100% of iPhone glass production from China and other Asian countries to our District. Presidents Reagan, Bush, Obama, and Biden all used tariffs. It’s time to end the double standards against Trump."
Reacting to the ruling, Trump announced that he would sign an order to "impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122."
Section 122 permits the president to implement a "temporary import surcharge" in the event there are "large and serious" balance-of-payment deficits.