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Roberts Court Shuts Door on Tariffs But Leaves Room for Trump to Prevail

William Attardi on February 21, 2026

In a 6–3 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court held that IEEPA does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs. The ruling struck down the tariffs at issue in the case. The U.S. Supreme Court may have struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but the fight is far from finished. While the Court closed one legal door, it left several others wide open – and the president has already signaled that he intends to step through them. Importantly, however, the court did not hold that the president lacks tariff authority altogether. Rather, it concluded only that IEEPA is not a valid statutory foundation for such measures. The opinion left intact the president’s ability to rely on other trade statutes enacted by Congress. The message was unmistakable: the court’s ruling will not mark the end of the administration’s tariff strategy.  Roberts court shuts door on tariffs but leaves room for Trump to prevail | Just The News

Trump Wins Saudi Pledge to Boost US Investment to $1 Trillion

William Attardi on November 18, 2025

Mohammed bin Salman pledged to increase Saudi investment to $1 trillion. The original $600 billion plan envisioned expanded Saudi trade and investment over four years, spanning energy, infrastructure, technology and defense cooperation. Recent deals linked to the pledge already include huge orders for U.S. weapons and advanced artificial-intelligence hardware, as Saudi-backed firms sign agreements with chipmakers and cloud providers to build data centers and AI hubs.  The money is expected to land in U.S. factories, energy projects, construction, and cutting-edge tech. Trump Wins Saudi Pledge to Boost US Investment to $1 Trillion | Newsmax.com

Trump Expands Critical Minerals List to Copper, Met Coal, Uranium

William Attardi on November 8, 2025

The Trump administration on Thursday added 10 minerals to a list it deems essential for the U.S. economy and national security, including copper, vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, and metallurgical coal, used to make coke fuel for steel production.  The Interior Department’s critical minerals list guides federal investments and permitting decisions and helps shape the government’s broader minerals strategy. The administration is expanding the list amid efforts to boost domestic mining and cut reliance on imports, particularly from economic rival China.  Trump expands critical minerals list to copper, met coal, uranium | Reuters

Trump Meets with Xi, Declares Immediate Cut to Tariffs by Josh Chin Follow and Meridith McGraw

William Attardi on November 1, 2025

U.S.-China summit offers relief to both sides while high-stakes rivalry carries on. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping emerged from their first face-to-face meeting in six years with a temporary truce in the bruising trade fight between the two superpowers. Their agreement lowers immediate tensions between the U.S. and China, which have been locked for months in a bitter struggle over trade and technology that has hurt both their economies. The agreement includes a reduction in stiff U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for a pledge by China to crack down on the trade in the chemicals used to produce fentanyl. China also promised to ease the exports of rare earths—minerals that Western manufacturers rely on to make a range of goods. And Beijing promised to buy “tremendous amounts” of American soybeans.  Trump Meets With China’s Xi, Declares Immediate Tariff Cut – WSJ

TikTok’s Algorithm to Be Licensed to US Joint Venture Led by Oracle and Silver Lake

William Attardi on September 23, 2025

Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok’s popular video platform under the terms of a deal laid out this week by President Donald Trump’s administration. All the final details still need to be nailed down among several joint venture partners that will include Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and possibly two billionaires — media mogul Rupert Murdoch and personal computer pioneer Michael Dell. . Although he no longer runs Oracle as its CEO, company co-founder Larry Ellison remains a top executive while also overseeing an estimated personal fortune of $390 billion. Ellison, 81, now could be in line to become a behind-the-scenes power player in the media, having already helped finance Skydance’s recently completed $8 billion merger with Paramount, a deal engineered by his son, David. The U.S. administration would not have a stake in the joint venture nor be part of its board, according to a senior White House official.  Oracle will manage TikTok algorithm for US users under Trump deal | AP News

US and UK Sign Science and Technology Agreement

William Attardi on September 22, 2025

On September 18, 2025, President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed the Technology Prosperity Deal, a landmark science and technology agreement that will propel the U.S. – UK special relationship to new heights for the technological age and deliver wins for the American people and American innovation globally. The Technology Prosperity Deal establishes joint initiatives between the two nations’ premiere research and standards institutions across artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and quantum computing to bring transformative benefits to citizens – from accelerating breakthroughs in health care, to lowering energy costs, and supporting national security. US and UK Sign Science and Technology Agreement – electrifiED

Trump’s Team Explores Government-Backed Manufacturing Boost

William Attardi on September 19, 2025

President Trump’s team is weighing a plan to spur the construction of factories and other infrastructure in a bid to jump-start the American manufacturing sector, according to documents and people familiar with the discussions. Under the plan, the administration would use money from  a $550 billion investment fund established as part of trade negotiations with Japan to invest in the development of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, energy, ships and quantum computing. Some of the projects would be granted preferential treatment from the government, including expedited regulatory review. The administration is considering granting leases to companies that would give them access to federal land and water.  Trump’s Team Explores Government-Backed Manufacturing Boost – WSJ

US Supreme Court to Hear Trump’s Tariffs Case on November 5 by Andrew Chung

William Attardi on September 19, 2025

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Nov. 5 on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The case arises after lower courts found that Trump exceeded his powers under a federal law typically reserved for emergencies. The ruling could have significant implications for US trade policy and the limits of presidential authority. US Supreme Court to hear Trump’s tariffs case on November 5 | Reuters

Trump Is Bringing In So Much Revenue From Tariffs That It’s Seriously Reducing The $37 Trillion National Debt by Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune

William Attardi on August 12, 2025

President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are raking in unprecedented sums for the federal government—so much, in fact, that a top budget watchdog says the revenue rivals the impact of creating a brand-new payroll tax or slashing the entire military budget by nearly one-fifth. (These are rough estimates, to be sure, conveyed to communicate the magnitude of the tariffs, not precise contributions to the budget.) But can these massive cash flows, already topping tens of billions monthly, truly put a dent in America’s $37 trillion national debt? Actually, yes, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).The D.C.-based think tank estimates the tariffs will bring in an estimated $1.3 trillion of net new revenue through the end of Trump’s current term and $2.8 trillion through 2034.  Trump is bringing in so much revenue from tariffs that it’s seriously reducing the $37 trillion national debt

That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind – The last time human beings headed moonward was on the Apollo 17 flight that launched Dec. 7, 1972—before any of the Artemis II crew members were born. Today’s crew will not land on the moon—they won’t even orbit the moon. But they will whip around the lunar far side, on a shakedown mission test-flying the Orion spacecraft. This is essential preparatory work for achieving NASA’s bigger lunar goals. Next year there will be another test flight in low Earth orbit during the flight of Artemis III, followed by up to two moon landings by Artemis IV and V in 2028, and annual landings thereafter. Unlike the Apollo program, Artemis aims not just for the so-called flags-and-footprints model of short, one- to three-day stays on the moon, but for a long-term presence at a long-term moon base in the south lunar pole, where deposits of ice can provide drinkable water, breathable oxygen, and oxygen-hydrogen rocket fuel. Very much like the Apollo program, Artemis finds itself in a closely watched moon race, not with the old Soviet Union this time, but with China, which has announced its intention to have astronauts on the moon by 2030. The U.S. is not going it alone this time, however. While Apollo was an entirely American enterprise, Artemis flies under the flag of 60 countries, signatories to the Artemis Accords, an international pact whose members vow to support the peaceful exploration of space and contribute money, modules, and astronauts to the Artemis cause. Artemis II Has Launched. Here’s Everything You Need to Know