'Monumental ruling': Expert reacts as Supreme Court hits Trump's favorite policy

President Donald Trump's agenda just got dealt a "monumental" defeat by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a legal expert.

The court ruled 6-3 against the 79-year-old president's sweeping tariffs by finding that his invocation of an emergency statute to regulate global trade was unlawful, and CNN's Elie Honig explained the implications of the decision on "The Situation Room."

"It's a monumentalruling," Honig said, "and the bottom line isthat the tariffs Donald Trumpannounced back in April on 'Liberation Day' are gone. Theyhave been ruled illegal by thisU.S. Supreme Court. Aninteresting array of justiceshere in the majority ruling thatthe tariffs are illegal, as Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Gorsuch and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, three conservatives whoteamed up with the three liberaljustices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson, to rule these tariffsunconstitutional."

"The dissentersare justices Thomas, Alito and Kavanaugh, and the basis for theruling is this: Congress, not thepresident, Congress typicallyholds the tariff power," Honig added. "Now, Congress passed this law back in1977 called the International Economic Emergencies Act, and Donald Trump tried to use thatlaw to say, 'Well, I'm declaringan international economicemergency, therefore, I'mimposing tariffs.' But themajority here said, 'No, that lawdoes not authorize you to imposetariffs, and no, there is not avalid international economicemergency here.' So the endresult, we are still goingthrough this, but the end resultis that Donald Trump's tariffshave been struck down by theU.S. Supreme Court."

However, the legal analyst said the White House has already signaled that Trump could continue his trade war by other means.

"Donald Trump has said, various White House officials have said,if he loses on this basis, hewill try to reimplement othertariffs through other laws,which he can try to do," Honig said. "However,those other laws are much morerestrictive. They would notallow him to apply the type ofsweeping massive, across-the-globe tariffs that he tried toimpose here, but have now beenstruck down. Look, Donald Trumpsaid these tariffs are thesingle most important thing hehas done in his presidency. Hesaid that, and now they've beenstruck down by the court."

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