In Tariff Case, Supreme Court Justices Bicker Over Treating Trump And Biden Differently

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, was unusually direct in suggesting some of his colleagues were treating presidents of opposing parties differently.

Feb. 21, 2026, 4:00 AM CST By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON — Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch pulled no punches in taking aim at his colleagues on the Supreme Court for a lack of consistency in approaching broad assertions of presidential power made by Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Gorsuch was part of the 6-3 majority that struck down most of Trump’s tariffs on Friday, but he wrote a separate 46-page opinion that chided several of his fellow justices over how they approached the case.

His colleagues were effectively applying the same Supreme Court precedent differently under Trump than they did under Biden, he argued, writing: “It is an interesting turn of events.”

His invective focused on a theory known as the “major questions doctrine,” which adherents say bars sweeping presidential action not specifically authorized by Congress. The conservative-majority court embraced the doctrine while Biden was in office to strike down broad plans, such as his effort to forgive student loan debt.

But in ruling against Trump on tariffs Friday, the conservative majority splintered. Gorsuch, Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts were in the majority, finding in part that Trump’s tariffs needed to go through Congress. Three others, Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito, dissented.

“It shows you how much internal dissension there is on the Supreme Court right now,” said Robin Effron, a professor at Fordham University School of Law.

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In tariff case, Supreme Court justices bicker over treating Trump and Biden differently _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Gorsuch held his course and took the same position on the "major questions doctrine' in Biden's case and in tRump's case. Every Justice should have. Gorsuch criticizes member s of both the left and right, three conservative justices who voted against this with tRump, the other left-wing justices who took an opposite opinion with Biden. Yes, the Supreme court is screwed up now. Everything trump touches is screwed up, even all of our government agencies, just as the rest of our court system is. Gorsuch got it right, but how do we fix the Supreme Court? Your thoughts?