SCOTUS conservatives signal skepticism on Trump's sweeping tariffs - National & International News - WED 5Nov2025 -

Supreme Court signals skepticism on Trump’s sweeping tariff program.

FAA to reduce air traffic by 10% at dozens of airports due to shutdown.

Supreme Court signals skepticism on Trump’s sweeping tariff program

Since Trump’s second term began, the Supreme Court has mostly sided with administration when cases were brought challenging executive branch actions. The court’s conservative majority has blocked challenges to Trump’s actions on immigration, foreign aid, and the mass firings of federal employees, often without even issuing a written opinion. In the case the court heard today, the conservative Justices showed their first meaningful indication of willingness to check Trump’s power.

The case was brought by states and businesses affected by Trump’s tariff policies. In particular, the plaintiffs challenged Trump’s authority to impose across-the-board tariffs on every US trading partner using a 1977 law as justification. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The law gives the president the power to regulate commerce when facing “an unusual and extraordinary threat”. Trump has alleged that the country’s trade deficits constitute such a threat.

Experts have called the current court as the most pro-business Supreme Court ever. This was evident today as even Trump-appointed conservatives resisted the Trump administration’s arguments. Some, including Chief Justice John Roberts, said that Trump likely infringed upon Congress’s taxation authority by imposing steep and wide-ranging taxes on Americans and American businesses that import or consume foreign goods. Roberts said the tariffs amounted to “the imposition of taxes on Americans, and that has always been the core power of Congress”.

The tariff program could bring trillions of dollars into federal coffers over the next decade. This and Trump’s claim of sweeping authority “to impose tariffs on any product, from any country, in any amount, for any length of time” might make the case subject to the “major questions” doctrine, Roberts said. The court previously used the major questions doctrine to strike down executive actions during the Biden administration by requiring explicit authority from Congress.

FAA to reduce air traffic by 10% at dozens of airports due to shutdown

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced today that the Federal Aviation Administration would be cutting air traffic by 10% in 40 “high-volume markets”. The administration has not yet announced exactly which airports would be affected.

The cuts have become necessary due to staffing shortages caused by the government shutdown (which is now the longest in history). Even before the shutdown, the US has had a long-standing shortage of air traffic controllers across the country. Estimates indicate that at least 3,000 more ATC workers need to be hired to fully staff the country’s airports. The shutdown halted ongoing training for new hires and has forced ATC and TSA workers to work without pay, even with mandatory overtime. As the shutdown has dragged on, staffing shortages have worsened, leading to thousands of delayed and canceled flights.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford cited reports of increasing fatigue among air traffic controllers and fears that this could compromise safety. “We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating,” Bedford said.