Indian-American lawyer Neal Katyal will argue at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday in a case that President Donald Trump has called one of the most important in American history. The case focuses on whether Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which gives presidents the power to act during domestic emergencies related to foreign affairs.
A ruling against Trump could curtail one of his strongest strategies, the use of tariffs to influence other countries and advance US foreign policy.
Addressing Truth Social, Trump said: “If we win, we will be the richest and safest country in the world – by far. If we lose, our country could be reduced to almost third world status. Pray to God it doesn’t happen.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he will attend a Supreme Court hearing on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, calling it a “matter of national security”.
Bessent told Fox News on Jesse Watters Primetime: “I’m actually going to sit down, hopefully in the front row, and I’ll have a ringside seat. This is a matter of national security.” Trump initially said he planned to attend the hearing in person, but later decided not to, explaining that he “didn’t want to distract from the importance of the decision.”
The outcome could determine the extent of the president’s authority to impose tariffs and who has power over US trade policy.
“The president’s claim to authority is breathtaking. The IEEPA never mentions tariffs, and no other president has used them for that purpose in 50 years,” Katyal said in an Oct. 20 court filing, according to multiple media reports.
He represents the Liberty Justice Center, which earlier secured a 7-4 victory at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where the justices ruled that the president had exceeded his authority. He will now urge the Supreme Court to uphold the ruling.
“This case is not about politics. It is about maintaining the constitutional balance between Congress and the President – and ensuring that no one controls the economic destiny of the nation,” India Today quoted its source as saying.
Who is Neal Katyal?
Born on March 12, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois, Katyal is the son of Indian immigrant parents. His mother, Pratibha, is a pediatrician, and his father, Surendar, an engineer, died in 2005. His sister, Sonia Katyal, is also a lawyer and teaches at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Katyal is an American attorney and legal scholar who is a partner at Milbank LLP and the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States from May 2010 to June 2011 during the Obama administration. Prior to that, he worked in the Office of the Attorney General and served as Principal Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice.
