THE TOP
Supreme Court crushes Trump’s tariffs
Welcome to The Readback, our weekend digest featuring the best of Punchbowl News this week – a quick roundup of all our scoops, analysis and Capitol Hill insight you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve also included a few of our favorite outside reads from the week.
Tariffs: The Supreme Court dealt a massive blow on Friday to President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, striking down a vast swath of the administration’s tariffs.
The decision immediately made waves on Capitol Hill. What was set up to be a quiet Friday with both chambers in recess instead became a rush to respond to a major court ruling.
For weeks now, members of Congress and aides had been anticipating the Supreme Court’s decision — waiting on edge for what the ruling would be, debating why it was taking so long and gaming out how to respond.
The Supreme Court case hung over the entire debate about Trump’s tariffs and trade agenda.
But now, it’s finally time to confront the fallout.
Democrats are quickly changing gears in their war against Trump’s tariffs to press for refunds of the revenue collected by the administration. This has become a huge political issue for Democrats, who are trying to use the tariffs to tie Republicans to rising prices.
After the high court’s decision, Trump announced he’d use Section 122 authority to levy 10% global tariffs. That authority will allow the president to impose tariffs for 150 days without congressional action. The president also said he’ll ramp up Section 301 investigations to apply additional tariffs.
Trump added he doesn’t need to work with Congress on tariff legislation. That will be a relief for many congressional Republicans, who’ve avoided the issue as Trump’s trade wars rage. Many in the GOP still dislike tariffs, but they’ve largely avoided breaking publicly with Trump on the issue and drawing his ire.
Still, the decision is already highlighting diverging views from congressional Republicans.
There are a few GOP lawmakers publicly supporting the decision.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) is already seizing on it to demand another party-line reconciliation bill to codify Trump’s tariffs. There’s a lot of skepticism even among Republicans about another reconciliation package — for good reason. But supporters of the idea may draw on the tariff decision to make their case and tout a big pot of potential revenue.
What I’m watching: I’ve been doing weekly watches of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” with some friends, and it’s way better than I expected.
– Laura Weiss
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My Texas trip takeaways
I just returned from a four-day trip to Texas where I got to see the Senate race play out on the ground after a year of watching from afar.
It was great to be back on the trail. I was able to make it to campaign stops for the five major Senate candidates and ask each of them questions about the race.
I caught GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt in Dallas, Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in Austin, Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Fort Worth and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton way out east in Tyler.
Anyone familiar with Texas geography knows that’s a LOT of driving. But I also got plenty of good tacos, so it evens out.
One thing that stood out to me on the trail: Democrats seem to be more fired up than the GOP.
Both Talarico and Crockett inspired massive crowds. The Talarico event I attended drew 1,000 people on a Tuesday evening, according to his campaign. And Crockett’s team said she pulled in 700 people to a church at 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday!
The GOP events I attended were smaller, probably closer to 100 people.
The last Trump midterm generated a lot of Democratic enthusiasm, and this one is likely to as well. That’s part of why both parties have made such a focus on electability. Democrats see a rare opportunity to win statewide in Texas. Republicans know they could be vulnerable in a good Democratic year. But both want the right candidate.
Cornyn and his allies have spent more than $60 million to try and stop Paxton because they believe he puts the seat at risk. This hasn’t really worked. It seems highly likely Paxton will take the first slot in the March 3 primary, and the race will drag out into a runoff.
Some Democrats and nearly all Republicans believe Crockett would be the least formidable nominee for her party. The NRSC even took credit for helping nudge her into the race.
But Crockett has far less money than Talarico, though her high name ID gave her a strong head start.
Here’s something I’ve been thinking about: Republicans believe any of their candidates could beat Crockett, even Paxton, who has serious ethical issues. Instead of spending $60 million to try to help Cornyn make it into a runoff, what if they spent a fraction of that to help Crockett keep pace with Talarico?
In Republicans’ minds, if Crockett is the Democratic nominee, then it doesn’t matter who wins the Republican primary. It seems more cost-effective to meddle in the Democratic primary, which is far less likely to go to a runoff.
This is especially true because Paxton would be favored to win a GOP primary runoff, as it tends to have a smaller and more conservative electorate. That means Republicans have only just begun their Cornyn rescue mission.
What I’m reading: I am about to start “Best Offer Wins,” a novel about the competitive DC real estate market by Marisa Kashino. My colleague Samantha Handler recommended it to me back in August, and it’s finally my turn to read it at the library! But I’m going to wait a bit longer because I left my Kindle at a hotel in Austin and it’s still making its way back to me in the mail.
– Ally Mutnick
Bingo! State of the Union style
President Donald Trump is set to deliver the first State of the Union speech of his second term on Tuesday night. You’ll remember that Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress last year was not technically a State of the Union.
While we can’t bet on what exactly will happen inside the House chamber, we can do our best to guess what Trump might say.
Will Trump mention his “great tariffs,” or will he bring up the “rigged Nobel Peace Prize?” And how many times will he say former President Joe Biden’s name?
Once again, we’ve made a game out of it, and you can play too! Re-introducing (drum roll, please): Power List Bingo.
You can find your bingo card tucked inside the Special Edition State of the Union newsletter, which will hit your inbox Tuesday morning. It includes some of Trump’s favorite phrases that he posts on social media or he uses most in his speeches or responses to reporters.
Play to see if your favorite Trumpism made the cut by watching the State of the Union at 9 p.m. on Tuesday and marking off any phrases Trump says. And be sure to share your card on social media using #thepunchlist and tagging us @PunchbowlNews.
What I’m watching: ”One Hundred Years of Solitude” on Netflix. The adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel is beautifully done. The visuals transport me right into Macondo from the comfort of my couch.
– Alicia Abelson
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