Topline
On Sunday evening, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to criticize Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch. Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with their decision to overturn his tariffs and urged them to support his stance on limiting birthright citizenship. He accused the justices of causing harm to the nation, despite prior cautions from Chief Justice John Roberts about the potential dangers of such criticisms.
Trump specifically targeted Gorsuch and Barrett, both of whom he nominated, for their decision to oppose him on his extensive tariff policies. The Supreme Court recently ruled by a 6-3 vote that the tariffs had been unlawfully implemented, which Trump claimed was detrimental to the country.
In response to the ruling, the Trump administration has begun the process of reimbursing businesses approximately $166 billion for the tariffs they previously paid.
The former president expressed his disappointment that Gorsuch and Barrett, in his view, failed to demonstrate respect for the country and its citizens by siding against him on the tariff issue. He implied that they should feel a sense of loyalty to the individual who appointed them to the Supreme Court.
Trump also speculated that the Supreme Court might not support his executive order on birthright citizenship. Nonetheless, he urged Gorsuch and Barrett to back his position, arguing that ruling against the order would be economically unsustainable for the United States.
Trump’s remarks against the justices follow earlier warnings from Chief Justice Roberts, who has advised against personal attacks on members of the Supreme Court. Roberts noted in March that such hostility is perilous and must cease, especially as justices and other federal judges continue to face personal threats.
Trump’s comments attacking Gorsuch and Barrett come after Roberts previously warned against personal attacks on Supreme Court justices—as they and other federal judges have faced frequent personal threats—saying in March that such “personally directed hostility is dangerous and has got to stop.”
Crucial Quote
“I don’t want loyalty, but I do want and expect it for our Country,” Trump wrote Sunday, referring to justices ruling in his favor on birthright citizenship.
What To Watch For
The Supreme Court will likely issue its ruling in the birthright citizenship case next month, before the court’s term ends at the end of June. Justices signaled during oral arguments in the case they were skeptical of Trump’s policy, which would bar children from becoming citizens if their parents are not citizens or permanent residents themselves, but it still remains unclear how the court will ultimately rule.
Key Background
Trump has repeatedly gone after the Supreme Court in recent months after it ruled against his tariff policy in February, despite the 6-3 conservative court otherwise largely ruling in Trump’s favor during his second term. “Our Country was unnecessarily RANSACKED by the United States Supreme Court, which has become little more than a weaponized and unjust Political Organization,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in March. The president’s attacks have led Republicans to have declining trust in the court, polling has suggested, and comes as he and his administration have also leveled attacks on lower federal judges for ruling against his policies. The attacks come as federal judges have expressed widespread concern about threats against them in recent years, as they’ve issued rulings on partisan issues and faced public attacks. The U.S. Marshals Service, which protects federal judges, reports there have already been 292 threats to 236 federal judges reported so far this year, after nearly 400 judges faced 564 threats in 2025. Congress passed additional security funding for Supreme Court justices last year amid the heightened threats, though it has not yet done so for lower judges.
