We're getting a bit of federal court whiplash Thursday on the tariff front. 

As RedState reported Wednesday evening, in a pair of cases, the Court of International Trade (CIT) held that the Trump administration's actions on tariffs, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), exceeded the president's authority under the statute and thus violated the separation of powers set forth by the Constitution.

READ MORE: Federal Trade Court Strikes Down Trump’s 'Liberation Day' Tariffs, Citing Overreach

The ink had barely dried on that decision before the administration appealed it to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Now, that court has pressed pause on the lower court ruling. 

⚖️ In V.O.S. Selections/State of Oregon v. Trump (challenging tariffs) Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issues order consolidating appeals and administratively staying lower court judgment until June 9.https://t.co/5TFp9Vh2Fx

— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) May 29, 2025

In a per curiam order issued Thursday afternoon, 11 of the Federal Circuit's 12 active judges agreed to:

1. consolidate the appeals of the two related cases;
2. issue an administrative stay of the CIT's decision "until further notice"

The court also gave the plaintiffs until June 5 to respond to the administration's motion for stay pending appeal, and the administration until June 9 to reply to that. (Reminder: The administrative stay entered today is a temporary pause "while this court considers the motions papers." A full stay pending appeal would place the lower court ruling on hold while the case is appealed on the merits — that's what the parties are now directed to file additional briefing on.) 

So, in a nutshell, the appellate court temporarily paused the CIT's decision from Wednesday, and the tariffs at issue in those cases can remain in effect. 

This is a separate case/issue from the one on which Judge Rudolph Contreras of the D.C. District Court ruled on Thursday morning. 

READ MORE: New: Another Judge Rules Against Trump's Tariffs

That ruling has also been appealed (to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals). Whether that court will follow the Federal Circuit's lead and enter a similar administrative stay remains to be seen. Judge Contreras did stay his injunction in that case for 14 days to afford the administration time to appeal.

Editor's Note: Partisan federal judges are hijacking President Trump's agenda and insulting the will of the people

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