Trump Tariffs Blocked at Trade Court

Trump: The ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade is so wrong and so, so political! Hopefully the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY (Rapid Response). The question at issue is whether the administration can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (“IEEPA”) to conduct the tariff policy. The court’s response: The court does not read IEEPA to confer such unbounded authority and sets aside the challenged tariffs imposed thereunder (USCIT). Salem News Channel: A U.S. trade court ruling that blocked most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and found he had overstepped his authority triggered some relief on financial markets on Thursday, while adding to the uncertainties weighing on the global economy (SNC). Trump will appeal—and has asked for an immediate pause: The Trump administration asked the court late Wednesday to pause the ruling while it pursues an appeal. Not doing so would endanger foreign policy and national security, the administration said in its motion for a stay. Having ruled Trump’s efforts unlawful, the lower-court panel is unlikely to pause its own ruling, which would compel the administration to look to the higher courts for relief. The appeal could ultimately land the case in the Supreme Court. Trade experts and lawyers said the administration has other legal avenues to prosecute the trade war uninhibited by Wednesday’s decision (WSJ). Ed Morrissey: The Federal Circuit Appellate Court has enough sympathy to stay the ruling from the Court of International Trade for a little while as the administration appeals the decision. For now, tariffs are back on the menu, boys: A federal appeals court on Thursday granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause a lower-court ruling that struck down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Don’t read too much into this action. The per curiam order will only remain in effect for a fortnight or so while both sides prepare motions in the consolidated appeal (Hot Air). J.D. Vance: We believe — and we’re right — that we are in an emergency (Clip: Rapid Response).

Trump Decision to End Migrant Parole Program Blocked by District Court

Salem News Channel: A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from halting legal entry “parole” programs that have allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants with U.S. sponsors to enter the country legally. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued an order requiring agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to resume the processing of applications from migrants covered by those parole programs pending the outcome of a class action lawsuit. Talwani rejected the Trump administration’s claim that ending the programs was within the agencies’ broad discretion to direct immigration policy (SNC).  Jennifer Oliver O’Connell: Lest anyone thinks this is an organic outcry of grassroots organizations fighting on the side of immigrants, understand that under Trump 2.0, those days are gone. These legal challenges continue to show that the Resistance considers lawfare its only option to shut down the Trump administration’s control of illegal immigration (Red State).

Federal Judge Extends Order Blocking Trump Administration’s Ban on Foreign Students at Harvard

Boston Herald: U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs extended the block she imposed last week with a temporary restraining order on the government action. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security on Friday after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The dispute over international enrollment at Harvard is the latest escalation in a battle between the White House and the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college (Boston Herald). Ed Morrissey: In an utterly predictable development, Harvard got the relief it sought from the home-town federal judge … for now. Even the New York Times suggests this won’t last long: “A federal judge in Boston said on Thursday morning that she would issue an order blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students. The ruling was a win, at least temporarily, for the university in its ongoing confrontation with the White House, which has waged an all-out battle to undermine Harvard’s finances and global influence.” Or, y’know, to force Harvard to comply with the law and to protect Jewish students from assault and intimidation. Six of one, half-dozen of another, amirite? (Hot Air).

Stephen Miller: “We are living under a judicial tyranny”

The White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor is understandably frustrated (X). Mollie Hemmingway pressed Karoline Leavitt on the issue in yesterday’s White House briefing: “It also seems there’s not much of an actual coordinated effort from this White House to take and tackle this effort from judges, Democrats, and other people using these judges to stymie the agenda. Is there an actual effort by this White House to tackle this issue in a comprehensive way, and if so, what is it?” Leavitt claimed that there “is an effort by this administration to tackle these rogue judges and the injunctions and the blockades that we have faced in our broken judicial system,” but she did not specify what that effort is. Hemingway, undeterred by Leavitt’s list, pressed the press secretary again over what “some people are calling … a judicial coup…. is there going to be anything more than that, or is it just going to let this operation continue even though it could delay everything for years until the presidency is over?” Hemingway asked. “The administration is operating under the directive given … from the president that we need to comply with the court’s orders. He’s made that very clear, but we’re going to fight them in court, and we’re going to win on the merits of these cases, because we know we are acting within a president’s legal and executive authorities,” Leavitt concluded, before moving on to another question (Federalist).

Supreme Court Reins in Federal Agencies

An 8-0 decision in a case dealing with a railroad line in Utah and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—and the degree of deference that should be shown to an agency’s environmental impact statement (Supreme Court). Roll Call: The Supreme Court narrowed federal judicial scrutiny of environmental reviews by federal agencies, ruling Thursday that courts should defer to agency decisions about the scope and content of statements on the environmental effects of a project. The decision also finds that while those agency impact statements need to address the environmental effects of the project at hand, the statements do not have to consider the effects of separate projects. The court’s majority, in an opinion written by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, found that an appellate court did not provide the U. S. Surface Transportation Board with “substantial judicial deference” in a case tied to the approval of an 88-mile stretch of railroad line in Utah (Roll Call). John Hinderaker: For many years, liberals have used environmental legislation not to safeguard the environment, but to block progress in general. The Court is finally on to them. More: “The proper judicial approach for NEPA cases is straightforward: courts should review an agency’s EIS (Environmental Impact Study) to check that it addresses the environmental effects of the project at hand. The EIS need not address the effects of separate projects… Citizens may not enlist the federal courts, “under the guise of judicial review” of agency compliance with NEPA, to delay or block agency projects based on the environmental effects of other projects separate from the project at hand.” Notably, the decision was 8-0. The three left-wing justices agreed with the result, on the ground that an EIS does not need to consider upstream and downstream impacts of projects different from the one for which the EIS was required (Powerline).

DOJ Opens Investigation: Did California’s Transgender Policies Violate Federal Civil Rights Laws?

New York Sun: The DOJ probe comes after President Trump warned California that it risks losing federal funding if it continues to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. Mr. Trump’s ire centers on a planned appearance by a transgender high school junior, AB Hernandez, at the California state championships in Fresno this weekend. The high schooler, who was born a male but has transitioned into a female, has drawn attention for a string of wins against biological females, including victories in the long jump and triple jump at recent events. “California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS,’” the president wrote on Tuesday. “This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won ‘everything,’ and is now qualified to compete in the ‘State Finals’ next weekend” (New York Sun). Harmeet Dhillon: My office has found reasonable cause to believe that CIF, too, is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against female athletes. CIF maintains a policy, CIF Bylaw 300.D, that permits, directs, instructs, or requires California high schools to allow males to participate in girls’ interscholastic athletics, thereby depriving girls and young women of equal athletic opportunities. As a result of CIF’s policy, California’s top-ranked girls’ triple jumper, and second-ranked girls’ long jumper, is a boy. As recently as May 17, this male athlete was allowed to take winning titles that rightfully belong to female athletes in both events. The male athlete will now be allowed to compete against those female athletes again for a state title in long, triple, and high jump. Other high school female athletes have alleged that they were likewise robbed of podium positions and spots on their teams after they were forced to compete against males. Even California Governor Gavin Newsom has acknowledged that this practice is “deeply unfair” to girls and young women (Justice).

Elon Musk Wraps Up His Formal Work With DOGE

Musk: As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government (Elon Musk). State Department confirms—DOGE will continue: The indication that Musk’s DOGE-related work at the State Department will continue was reinforced by a new reorganization effort at the Department of State announced by Secretary Marco Rubio on Thursday. The new reorganization plans are expected to cut or consolidate more than 300 of the State Department’s offices and bureaus as part of a massive overhaul aimed at streamlining the department, according to agency officials. The agency currently has about 700 offices, meaning the reorganization effort will slash, or join, more than 40% of its offices (Fox News).

Elon Musk and His Contribution to the Nation

Byron York looks at Space X and our nation’s space program: That, and not a troubled venture into government, is what makes Musk so important. Musk is crucial to America’s space ambitions because, for a long time, after one of the greatest achievements in human history, the Apollo exploration of the moon, America seemed not to have any space ambitions at all. Musk changed that…. “I think the United States should be aiming for Mars,” Musk repeated, “because we’ve already actually been to the moon several times. Yeah, if China sort of equals that, I’m like, OK, sure, but that’s something that America did 56 years ago. If you look at the Apollo program, when JFK gave that famous speech, it was about setting a target that’s far in excess of what had been done. It wasn’t like, let’s do what the Russians already did.” The idea, in other words, is to do something that has never before been accomplished. “We should be going 1,000 times farther, and going to Mars is 1,000 times farther than the moon,” Musk concluded. “And if we are gonna go to the moon, I think we should do a moon base, or something that’s the next level beyond Apollo” (Washington Examiner).

Are Democrats Waking Up to the Fact That Their Brand Is Broken?

The Washington Post argues that the problem is “leftwing buzzwords.” In fact, it seems Americans—or at least the persuadables in the middle that matter so much in our politics today—are waking up: The woke agenda and the Critical Theory that informs it are radical and destructive to our social order. Washington Post on today’s Democrats: They contend that liberal candidates too often use language from elite, highly educated circles that suggests the speakers consider themselves smart and virtuous, while casting implied judgment on those who speak more plainly — hardly a formula for winning people over, they say… “Some words are just too Ivy League-tested terms,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona). “I’m going to piss some people off by saying this, but ‘social equity’ — why do we say that? Why don’t we say, ‘We want you to have an even chance’?” (Washington Post). Victor Davis Hanson gets it right: The left created DEI—the use of race to adjudicate every political issue. And like any addictive, toxic drug, they now can neither survive with DEI—nor without it. More: few Democrat officeholders, activists, and pundits are finally coming to their senses that their brand is toxic to a majority of the American people. The Biden administration killed what was left of it in a number of ways. First, it serially lied to Americans about the cognitive decline and cancerous condition of President Joe Biden, both while in and after office. Only when caught did the complicit media fess up that the Biden inner circle serially misled the American people about Biden’s inability to fulfill the duties of the presidency. Second, left-wing politicos used Biden as a waxen effigy. His job was to pose as a “moderate” cover to push through the most radical and unpopular agenda in the last half century (American Greatness).

June Is on Us … and Support for Pride Month Is Waning; “the shine has come off the rainbow”

“The collapsing of Pride under the weight of its own internal contradictions is a sure sign that the jig is up.” USA Today: Every June, national brands celebrate Pride Month with colorful displays of solidarity. This year, expect fewer rainbow logos and less corporate revelry. Despite a long track record of supporting the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer population, corporations are shrinking budgets and downplaying Pride marketing as President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and transgender rights emerges as a culture-war flashpoint.  “Normally this time of year, our company and others are always working on Pride campaigns. Last year there was almost nothing. This year is the same,” said Matt Skallerud, president of Pink Media, which helps brands reach the LGBTQ+ demographic. “I think it’s going to be a ghost town when it comes to Pride promotions at the start of June.” (USA Today). Spectator UK: 2025 is the year the genderist movement finally started to break apart. It has been a mad, wild ride. I’m sure there’s more to come, but after many false alarms it feels like a corner has finally been turned. The collapsing of Pride under the weight of its own internal contradictions is a sure sign that the jig is up. The preposterous propositions of Pride are a strain on credulity. Its adherents have to hold so many directly contradictory beliefs in their heads at the same time – for example, that men wearing women’s clothes are utterly hilarious when this is classed as ‘drag’, but worthy of seriousness, respect and indeed genuflection when this is classed as ‘trans’…. One of the main reasons why the rainbow cult got so far was that the media didn’t do its job. I know from experience that people often refuse to believe you when you tell them the plain facts about this period. Because you can’t possibly be telling the truth – it would have been on the news! There can’t really have been a rainbow dildo butt monkey invited to rampage around a school library and promote reading to young children (as there was in 2021). There can’t have been a thousand titles won by men competing in women’s sports. And the media still isn’t doing its job (Spectator).