WASHINGTON — The White House is insisting that President Donald Trump’s trade agenda will continue as intended, even as a series of consequential court rulings over the last two days have added major uncertainty to his ability to impose some of his most sweeping tariffs in the future. 

What You Need To Know

  • The White House is insisting that President Donald Trump’s trade agenda will continue as intended, even as a series of consequential court rulings over the last two days have added major uncertainty to his ability to impose some of his most sweeping tariffs in the future
  • Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Peter Navarro, a top White House trade advisor, pledged that the president will forge ahead with finding a path to enforcing his country-specific tariffs regardless of whether courts find the original authority he cited to do so legal
  • Asked if the administration was working on a “Plan B” if they are ultimately legally unsuccessful in using the original emergency power cited, Navarro said the trade team is considering all “strategic options"
  • Navarro’s comments came just after a federal appeals court decided the administration could, for the time being, continue to impose its duties under the emergency law it cited less than 24 hours after another court struck down his ability to do so 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Peter Navarro, a top White House trade advisor, pledged that the president will forge ahead with finding a path to enforcing his country-specific tariffs, most of which were unveiled on what he called “Liberation Day,” regardless of whether courts find the original authority he cited to do so legal. 

“You can assume that even if we lose, we will do it another way,” Navarro said. “I can assure the American people that the Trump tariff agenda is alive, well, healthy and will be implemented to protect you, to save your jobs and your factories and to stop shipping our wealth into foreign hands.” 

Asked if the administration was working on a “Plan B” if they are ultimately legally unsuccessful in using the original emergency power cited, Navarro said the trade team is considering all “strategic options.”

“Of course – there’s no Plan B, it's Plan A,” he said. “Plan A encompasses all strategic options.”

Navarro’s comments came just after a federal appeals court decided the administration could, for the time being, continue to impose its duties under the emergency law, the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act or IEEPA, that Trump used to announce his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on major trading partners as well as fees to incentivize countries to address immigration and fentanyl.

The decision came less than 24 hours after a federal trade court on Wednesday night ruled Trump exceeded his authority when he said U.S. trade deficits with other countries amounted to a national emergency and cited IEEPA to enforce the duties, blocking the administration from doing so in what was a major blow to the White House.

Earlier on Thursday another federal judge halted Trump’s ability to use the emergency authority to impose the fees, however the ruling applied to just two companies involved in that lawsuit in particular. 

Even before the Thursday afternoon ruling allowing the administration to move forward for now, press secretary Karoline Leavitt similarly declared that “the president’s trade policy will continue” regardless. 

“We will comply with the court orders but, yes, the president has other legal authorities where he can implement tariffs,” Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing. 

At the same time, she insisted the president was correct in how he exercised the emergency power in the first place, pledging that the administration would “win on the merits of these cases.”

Leavitt also said the White House expects to “fight this battle all the way to the Supreme Court,” adding she hopes they weigh in. On his Truth Social platform Thursday night, Trump wrote: “The ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade is so wrong, and so political! Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY.”

The White House also made clear it intends to continue trade negotiations with other countries amid the uncertainty, with both Leavitt and Navarro saying that the administration has already heard from other countries in the wake of Wednesday’s ruling saying they intend to continue talks. 

Both also railed against Wednesday’s decision, doubling down on the White House’s criticism of judges who have issued decisions pushing back on the administration. Leavitt called it “judicial overreach” and said the judges “brazenly abused their judicial power.” Navarro said it was a part of the “weaponization of the judiciary.”

In the wake of Wednesday’s decisions, congressional Democrats celebrated the ruling. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., called it “a win for the Constitution and the rule of law.”

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said the decision provides “much needed relief” to working Americans but called on Congress to pass a law terminating the emergency authority Trump used. 

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., called the ruling striking down the tariff authority “ridiculous.”

“The truth is, the courts don’t have a problem with tariffs, they have a problem with Trump,” Barr wrote. “We’ve got your back, Mr. President.” 

A handful of congressional Republicans have been skeptical of the president’s tariff agenda. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.