President Donald Trump is not letting the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling fade quietly into the background. In a 545-word Truth Social statement posted Sunday night, the president called out Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett by name, saying the two justices he appointed during his first term had “hurt our Country so badly” by siding against his administration’s use of tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Trump said the ruling cost the United States $159 billion.
He framed the frustration around national interest rather than personal allegiance, saying the loyalty he expects is loyalty to the country.
Trump slams Coney Barrett, Gorsuch over tariff decisionhttps://t.co/wfgMcuKsMr
— The Hill (@thehill) May 11, 2026
The statement lands at a moment when the Supreme Court still has major Trump administration cases on its docket, including the pending birthright citizenship fight. Trump tied the two issues together directly, warning that a negative ruling on birthright citizenship on top of what he called the tariff catastrophe would not be economically sustainable for the United States.
The tariff decision came down in late February as a 6-3 ruling. Gorsuch, Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Court’s three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, in striking down Trump’s IEEPA tariff authority. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Fox News reported on the full scope of the president’s statement and the stakes he outlined:
President Trump issued a lengthy Sunday night statement criticizing Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett after the Supreme Court tariff ruling. He said the two justices had hurt the country badly by siding against his tariff position, and he put the price tag at $159 billion that the United States would have to pay back to countries, companies, and people he said had been ripping America off for years. Trump also said he has another way to pursue tariffs, though that path would be slower and more laborious than the authority the court rejected.
The president tied the tariff fight to the pending birthright citizenship case and warned that a negative ruling there, on top of what he called the tariff catastrophe, would not be economically sustainable. The Supreme Court delivered a 6-3 decision against Trump in late February on his International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff authority. Gorsuch, Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts joined Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, leaving Trump praising the dissenters while openly questioning the court majority that included two of his own appointees.
That lineup is what makes the ruling sting. Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh recognized the president’s authority. Three justices Trump did not appoint joined two he did in gutting a tool the administration considered essential for trade leverage. The $159 billion price tag Trump attached to the decision puts the cost of the ruling in concrete terms that voters can process.
Trump’s acknowledgment that he has “another way” of imposing tariffs keeps the fight alive. He made no effort to sugarcoat what the Court’s decision did to his timeline, calling the alternative path slower and more laborious.
President Donald Trump on Sunday sharply criticized Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both appointed by him during his first term, saying they had “hurt our Country so badly” by siding against his administration’s tariff policies. https://t.co/mLaVHJeyLq
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 11, 2026
The birthright citizenship case adds another layer. The Court has not yet ruled on that question, and Trump is clearly signaling that he views the two cases as connected tests of whether the judiciary will let America defend its economic interests or tie the administration’s hands on multiple fronts simultaneously.
It is rare for a sitting president to publicly name his own Supreme Court appointees in a direct rebuke. Trump’s willingness to do so tells you how seriously the administration views the damage from the tariff ruling and how high the stakes are on the cases still to come.
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