When the US Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime, it was Neal Katyal, the son of Indian immigrants and a former Acting Solicitor General, who stood at the centre of the constitutional fight.
The judgement is being seen as a significant curb on presidential authority, clarifying that emergency economic powers cannot be stretched to impose broad-based tariffs without explicit approval from Congress.
Katyal had challenged Trump’s reliance on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), arguing that the law did not authorise the President to levy what he termed “unjust, unconstitutional taxes” on imports from nearly every trading partner. The litigation was initiated by small businesses and backed by the Liberty Justice Center. Trump had defended the tariffs, citing trade deficits and fentanyl overdoses as national emergencies warranting executive action.
Minutes after the ruling, Katyal framed it as a reaffirmation of constitutional boundaries.
“Today, the United States Supreme Court stood up for the rule of law, and Americans everywhere. Its message was simple: Presidents are powerful, but our Constitution is more powerful still. In America, only Congress can impose taxes on the American people,” he said.
Supreme Court draws a line on emergency tariff powers
According to Katyal, the court accepted the arguments presented in full.
“The US Supreme Court gave us everything we asked for in our legal case. Everything,” he said.
He stressed that the dispute was never about personalities. “This case has always been about the presidency, not any one president. It has always been about the separation of powers, and not the politics of the moment,” Katyal said, adding that the court had protected “our most fundamental values.”
Standing outside the court building, he reiterated the core holding: “In America, only Congress, the chief justice writing for six justices said, only Congress can impose taxes on the American people. And that’s what tariffs are. Tariffs are taxes.”
A constitutional lawyer shaped by high-stakes battles
Katyal was born in Chicago to Indian immigrant parents. His mother was a doctor, and his father an engineer. Katyal’s career has consistently revolved around constitutional questions at the highest level.
After graduating from Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, he clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer of the US Supreme Court. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed him Acting Solicitor General, placing him in charge of representing the federal government before the Supreme Court and appellate courts nationwide.
He has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court, a record-setting number among minority advocates.
He is currently a partner at Milbank LLP and the Paul Saunders Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Katyal specialises in constitutional and complex appellate litigation. His portfolio includes challenging Trump’s 2017 travel ban, defending the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and securing unanimous rulings in environmental as well as national security disputes.
He also served as Special Prosecutor for the State of Minnesota in the murder case of George Floyd and authored Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump.
His professional accolades include the US Justice Department’s Edmund Randolph Award, recognition as Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer in 2017 and 2023, and inclusion in Forbes’ list of the top 200 lawyers in the United States in 2024 and 2025.
‘A system that self-corrects’
In an interview with MS Now, Katyal reflected on what the verdict represented beyond trade policy.
“Just think about it like that. The son of immigrants was able to go to court and say on behalf of American small businesses, hey, this president is acting illegally. And I was able to present my case, have them ask really hard questions at me. It was a really intense oral argument. And at the end of it, they voted and we won,” he said.
He described the decision as proof of institutional resilience. “We have a system that self-corrects… you might be the most powerful man in the world, but you still can’t break the Constitution.”
“Today, the United States Supreme Court stood up for the rule of law, stood up for Americans everywhere. Its message was simple. Presidents are powerful, but our constitution is more powerful still,” he told MSNBC in an interview.
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