Despite losing in the lower courts, Trump and his lawyers have reason to believe they can win in the Supreme Court. And third, the Supreme Court has frowned on recent presidents who relied on old laws to justify bold, new, costly regulations. The effect of Trump’s tariffs figures to be at least five times greater, a federal appeals court said last week in ruling them illegal. In a 7-4 vote, the federal circuit court cited all three arguments in ruling that Trump had exceeded his legal authority. The appellate judges put their decision on hold until the Supreme Court rules.