What happens now that the Supreme Court has struck down Trump’s tariffs?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has paid the price for going it alone on tariffs — with the Supreme Court on Friday delivering a rare rebuke by ruling that he lacks the authority to declare an economic emergency and impose sweeping new taxes on imports.

Watch live: Trump holds a press conference after the Supreme Court struck down his global tariffs

Trump had made tariffs the cornerstone of his economic rhetoric to voters heading into the midterm elections, even describing tariffs as “his favorite word in the dictionary.” He promised that factories would move in and bring jobs with them, and warned that the loss of tariffs could plunge the United States into a deep recession.

But Friday’s ruling is likely to prolong the political and economic chaos over international trade through an election year.

Trump called the decision a “disgrace” after he received a memo informing him of the Supreme Court’s decision during a private meeting with several state governors, according to two people familiar with the president’s reaction who spoke on condition of anonymity. Another person briefed on the conversation revealed that Trump said he had to “do something about these courts.”

The meeting with the governors ended shortly after Trump learned of the decision.

Trump is expected to publicly address the ruling during an afternoon news conference.

He watches: House rebukes Trump’s tariffs on Canada, passes conservation bill

Republican strategist Doug Hay said it became immediately clear that the president “would not be happy” with the decision.

“We’re starting to hear how this is a huge blow, a massive rejection,” he said.

However, she said Trump will try to find another way to pursue his trade agenda.

“Will they be able to figure out how to exploit this opportunity or not?” he asked. “There are a lot of questions.”

The White House plans to use alternative laws to maintain its tariffs, but such policies will only prolong the debate and keep an issue deeply unpopular with voters.

About 6 in 10 Americans said Trump went too far in imposing new tariffs on other countries, according to a January AP-NORC poll.

Even more troubling for a president-elect promising to address Americans’ concerns about affordability, 76% said in an April poll that Trump’s tariff policies would increase the cost of consumer goods in the United States.

Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs has made many Republican lawmakers uncomfortable, both publicly and privately, forcing them to defend what were essentially tax increases on the American public and businesses.

At various points during Trump’s second term, at least seven senators from the president’s party expressed concerns. Earlier this month, six House Republicans joined Democrats to vote in favor of a resolution against Trump’s tariffs on Canada.

In fact, free trade had long been a mainstay of the Republican Party before Trump rose to power.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who served during Trump’s first term, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling as a victory for the public, the Constitution’s separation of powers and free trade.

“American families and American companies are the ones paying American tariffs, not foreign countries,” Pence wrote on social media. He added: “With this decision, American families and companies can breathe a sigh of relief.”

Democrats were quick to seize the opportunity given to them by the Supreme Court, with Rep. Susan DelBene, D-Wash., saying Trump “is not king” and that his “tariffs have always been illegal.”

“Republicans in Congress could have easily ended this economic crisis by standing up for their communities,” said DelBene, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Instead, they chose to kneel to Trump while families, small businesses, and farmers suffered from rising prices.”

The ruling essentially allows Trump’s critics to argue that he broke the law and that middle-class families suffered as a result.

But Trump claimed his tariffs represent the difference between national prosperity and extreme poverty, which is what he pitched Thursday night to voters in the swing state of Georgia.

The president used the word “tariffs” 28 times in his speech Thursday at Georgia steel company Coosa Steel, which credited import taxes as making its products more competitive with goods coming from China.

“If it weren’t for the tariffs, this country would be in such trouble right now,” Trump said.

Trump also complained that he had to justify his use of tariffs to the Supreme Court.

“I have to wait for this decision. I’ve waited forever, and the language is clear that I have the right to do this as president,” he said. “I have the right to impose tariffs for national security purposes on countries that have been deceiving us for years.” By a vote of 6 to 3, the Supreme Court said no.

The President has been misrepresenting his tariffs, claiming, despite evidence to the contrary, that foreign governments will pay them and that the proceeds will be enough to pay off the national debt and give taxpayers a dividend check.

New research linked to a leading US bank found on Thursday that tariffs paid by mid-sized US companies have tripled over the past year.

The additional taxes mean that companies that collectively employ 48 million people in the United States — the kinds of businesses Trump promised to revive — have had to find ways to absorb the new expenses, by passing them on to customers in the form of higher prices, hiring fewer workers, or accepting lower profits.

Trump’s tariffs — not all of which have been repealed — were expected to generate $3 trillion in revenue over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This amount is huge, but it will not be enough to cover the costs of the expected deficit.

The Supreme Court has not ruled on how any recovery process should work.

Associated Press writer Stephen Sloan contributed.