It's Time to Revisit the President's War Powers
That power is in tension with the fact, underscored by the Supreme Court's Civil War-era Prize Cases, that the president has not merely the authority but the duty to quell foreign threats to American national security and vital interests. The matter of whether there is such a viable threat is a political one, left by the Constitution to officials electorally accountable to the people whose lives are at stake. It is nonjusticiable: Congress must vindicate its own authority because the courts won't.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump injects new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
WASHINGTON (AP) — For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so that the tariff schedule could be updated. The change — while potentially welcome news to countries that had not yet reached a deal with the U.S. — injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses still wondering what's going to happen and when. Trump has promised that his tax hikes on the nearly $3 trillion in goods imported to the United States will usher in newfound wealth, launch a cavalcade of new factory jobs, reduce the budget deficits and, simply, get other countries to treat America with more respect. The vast tariffs risk jeopardizing America's global standing as allies feel forced into unfriendly deals. As taxes on the raw materials used by U.S. factories and basic goods, the tariffs also threaten to create new inflationary pressures and hamper economic growth — concerns the Trump White House has dismissed. Questions swirl around the tariffs despite Trump's eagerness As the clock ticked toward Trump's self-imposed deadline, few things seemed to be settled other than the president's determination to levy the taxes he has talked about for decades. The very legality of the tariffs remains an open question as a U.S. appeals court on Thursday heard arguments on whether Trump had exceeded his authority by declaring an 'emergency' under a 1977 law to charge the tariffs, allowing him to avoid congressional approval. Trump was ebullient as much of the world awaited what he would do. 'Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again,' he said Thursday morning on Truth Social. Others saw a policy carelessly constructed by the U.S. president, one that could impose harms gradually over time that would erode America's power and prosperity. 'The only things we'll know for sure on Friday morning are that growth-sapping U.S. import taxes will be historically high and complex, and that, because these deals are so vague and unfinished, policy uncertainty will remain very elevated,' said Scott Lincicome, a vice president of economics at the Cato Institute. 'The rest is very much TBD.' The new tariffs build off ones announced in the spring Trump initially imposed the Friday deadline after his previous 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic. His unusually high tariff rates unveiled then led to recession fears, prompting Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period. When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty agreements. Swiss imports will now be taxed at a higher rate — 39% — than the 31% Trump threatened in April, while Liechtenstein saw its rate slashed from 37% to 15%. Countries not listed in the Thursday night order would be charged a baseline 10% tariff. Trump negotiated trade frameworks over the past few weeks with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines — allowing the president to claim victories as other nations sought to limit his threat of charging even higher tariff rates. He said on Thursday there were agreements with other countries, but he declined to name them. Thursday began with a palpable sense of tension The EU was awaiting a written agreement on its 15% tariff deal. Switzerland and Norway were among the dozens of countries that did not know what their tariff rate would be, while Trump agreed after a Thursday morning phone call to keep Mexico's tariffs at 25% for a 90-day negotiating period. European leaders face blowback for seeming to cave to Trump, even as they insist that this is merely the start of talks and stress the importance of maintaining America's support of Ukraine's fight against Russia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has already indicated that his country can no longer rely on the U.S. as an ally, and Trump declined to talk to him on Thursday. India, with its 25% tariff announced Wednesday by Trump, may no longer benefit as much from efforts to pivot manufacturing out of China. While the Trump administration has sought to challenge China's manufacturing dominance, it is separately in extended trade talks with that country, which faces a 30% tariff and is charging a 10% retaliatory rate on the U.S. Major companies came into the week warning that tariffs would begin to squeeze them financially. Ford Motor Co. said it anticipated a net $2 billion hit to earnings this year from tariffs. French skincare company Yon-Ka is warning of job freezes, scaled-back investment and rising prices. It's unclear whether Trump's new tariffs will survive a legal challenge Federal judges sounded skeptical Thursday about Trump's use of a 1977 law to declare the long-standing U.S. trade deficit a national emergency that justifies tariffs on almost every country on Earth. 'You're asking for an unbounded authority,' Judge Todd Hughes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit told a Justice Department lawyer representing the administration. The judges didn't immediately rule, and the case is expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court. The Trump White House has pointed to the increase in federal revenues as a sign that the tariffs will reduce the budget deficit, with $127 billion in customs and duties collected so far this year — about $70 billion more than last year. New tariffs threaten to raise inflation rates There are not yet signs that tariffs will lead to more domestic manufacturing jobs, and the U.S. economy now has 14,000 fewer manufacturing jobs than it did in April. On Thursday, one crucial measure of inflation, known as the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, showed that prices have climbed 2.6% over the 12 months that ended in June, a sign that inflation may be accelerating as the tariffs flow through the economy. The prospect of higher inflation from the tariffs has caused the Federal Reserve to hold off on additional cuts to its benchmark rates, a point of frustration for Trump, who on Truth Social, called Fed Chair Jerome Powell a 'TOTAL LOSER.' But ahead of Trump's tariffs, Powell seemed to suggest that the tariffs had put the U.S. economy and much of the world into a state of unknowns. 'There are many uncertainties left to resolve,' Powell told reporters Wednesday. 'So, yes, we are learning more and more. It doesn't feel like we're very close to the end of that process. And that's not for us to judge, but it does — it feels like there's much more to come.' __ AP writer Paul Wiseman contributed to this report. Josh Boak, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thousands gather to farewell NYPD officer killed in Midtown mass shooting
Thousands gathered to say farewell to the New York City Police Department officer who was killed in Monday's mass shooting in Midtown. The funeral for 36-year-old Didarul Islam took place at the Parkchester Jame Masjid, located on a residential street in the officer's neighborhood in the Bronx, three days after he was killed in the deadliest shooting in the city in a quarter-century, The New York Times noted. The gunman entered the office building at 345 Park Avenue with an assault style-rifle and started to discharge the weapon. He killed Islam and two others before heading to the 33rd floor, where he killed a fourth person, before he died by suicide. Police say the shooter, Shane Tamura, 27, had made his way to New York from his Nevada home, where he was set on targeting the headquarters of the National Football League. Hundreds of officers from as many as 54 of the 77 precincts in the city, as well as from states and counties in the surrounding area, attended the funeral. The streets around the mosque were empty of cars for the proceedings, with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch saying that 'Didarul Islam came to this country as an immigrant with no guarantees, only the hope that hard work, that humility, and that purpose might lead him somewhere meaningful. And it did.' The rituals went on for close to four hours, with separate viewings for men and women. Floral wreaths covered the room, with the casket covered with the Police Department's standard in green, white, and blue. Mayor Eric Adams, himself a former NYPD officer, spoke at the funeral while the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary, Zohran Mamdani, sat with the family, The NYT noted. Islam came to New York City from Bangladesh when he was 20 years old, living in a small house along with his parents, his young sons, and his pregnant wife. In a eulogy read on his wife's behalf, she wrote that Islam had 'lived to help others' and that 'He gave his life protecting them. Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice might have saved others.' Islam, who served in the department for three and a half years, joined the agency after spending two years as a safety agent in city schools. Even as an officer, he spent his time off as a security guard. Islam worked the Dominican Day Parade in the Bronx on Sunday before picking up an additional shift on Monday at 345 Park Avenue. 'He stepped into a new land and chose to become part of its promise, to believe in its dream. And he did believe in the American dream, not as something handed down but as something built with your own hands,' said Tisch. 'He may not be here to see that dream fulfilled, but his sons will surely grow up with its foundation beneath their feet.' Friends and colleagues said Islam was a devoted Muslim. Imam Dr. Zakir Ahmed of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York said during remarks that Islam, 'lived at a time when people like him are too often feared, vilified and made to feel like outsiders.' 'We cannot honor Officer Islam today while ignoring the daily pain endured by his community — being told to go back where you came from, being watched more closely, judged more harshly and loved less fully,' Imam Ahmed added, according to The NYT. 'To our city, our nation, you cannot ask us to serve and then silence us,' he said. 'You cannot take our sacrifice and ignore our suffering.'
Miami Herald
18 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Federal judge postpones termination of TPS for Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal
A California federal judge has ruled to postpone the termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 61,000 immigrants from Nicaragua, Honduras and Nepal, many of whom have been living in the United States for decades. The Trump administration in June had terminated the TPS status for Nepal and in July for Honduras and Nicaragua, saying the conditions in those countries no longer support the designation for deportation protection. The administration, in its efforts to revamp the program and align it with its mass deportation policy, had terminated the status for countries like Cameroon, Afghanistan and Venezuela, emphasizing TPS was meant to be temporary, not long-term. The National TPS Alliance and seven TPS holders challenged the decision in a lawsuit in July, arguing that the administration failed to conduct a full review of current conditions in those countries and that the 60-day timeline provided for the termination is unlawful. With the termination dates fast approaching, they had requested that the judge postpone the effective dates until the court makes a final judgment on whether the administration's decisions to terminate were lawful. U.S. District Judge Trini L. Thompson's ruling on Thursday means the temporary protection status for Nepal, which was set to end on Aug. 5, and for Honduras and Nicaragua on Sept. 6, will remain in place and be extended to Nov. 18, the next scheduled hearing on the case. 'The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees,' Thompson said in her ruling. TPS grants humanitarian relief, such as deportation protection and work permits, to people from countries experiencing political turmoil or natural disasters. Nicaragua and Honduras were given the status in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch caused extensive destruction in the countries. The designation had continually been extended until the first Trump administration decided to terminate it. That decision was also challenged in a lawsuit, and the first Trump administration chose not to enforce the termination. The extension continued until the decision by the second Trump administration to terminate the status. Nepal, the other country in the lawsuit, was designated for TPS status in 2015 after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused massive destruction and displaced millions. In its response to the lawsuit, the Trump administration argued the court did not have jurisdiction in reviewing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's determination to terminate TPS for the three countries. The administration also cited national security concerns. The judge asked the administration to clarify why those covered under TPS would be national security concerns when they had been living in the U.S. for a significant period. The administration emphasized it had reviewed the conditions of those countries and it was safe for TPS recipients to return. And it argued that the influx of migrants coming through the southern border over the past four years had strained resources that would have been used for proper vetting of those coming into the country. The administration, in its response, did not clarify how that risk related to those who had already been the U.S. for decades. 'Indeed, not all TPS beneficiaries are security concerns. However, aliens can be a security concern and be present in the United States,' the administration stated its responses to Thompson's question. In her decision, the judge also pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security was not responsive to the argument presented by the National TPS Alliance that barring court reviews of TPS decisions would allow the Trump administration to use TPS as a lever for negotiations with other countries. 'The Court shares this concern and does not forget that this country has bartered with human lives. Nor does the Court shut its eyes to the country's shifting attitudes towards immigrants,' the ruling said, agreeing with the National TPS Alliance that the decision to terminate the TPS designation was not entirely based on the respective country's conditions. Harold Rocha, president of the Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, had been optimistically awaiting the judge's decision. His organization had printed our summaries of the case in Spanish and English and distributed them to its members earlier this week in anticipation of the decision. 'Judge Thompson's order to postpone provides temporary relief for the close to 60,000 beneficiaries from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Legal reasoning suggests there's a likelihood plaintiffs will succeed on the merits, and that is also a source of encouragement for a vulnerable group,' Rocha said. The ruling by Thomson to postpone the TPS termination date comes almost a month after a federal judge in New York ruled in favor of Haitians with temporary status, finding that Noem exceeded her authority when she shortened the 18-month extension granted under the Biden administration. In that case, the administration had made similar arguments that conditions in Haiti had improved, and terminating that status was in the national interest of the United States. The Trump administration could appeal Thursday's decision. It does, however, bring some solace for many Nicaraguans in South Florida, many of whom live in Sweetwater in Miami-Dade County and is sometimes referred to as 'Little Managua.'
