Elon Musk is gone and tariffs are illegal, but it's no time to declare Trump defeated

Toronto Star

4 days ago

Elon Musk is leaving the White House and a court has ruled a tranche of American trade tariffs to be illegal.
They are two welcome developments, but it's too soon to celebrate that the most offensive elements of Donald Trump's presidency are going … going … gone.
The U.S. Commander-in-Chief has shown no signs that he is prepared to fall back into a slow-and-steady pace of government that benefits all and favours none.
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No sign either that he is willing to follow any judge's orders.
Opening the White House doors to Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla chief, was only one of the first instances of Trump's enthusiasm for blurring the lines between the spheres of public service and private enterprise.
And though the social-media titan has admitted in an interview with tech publication Ars Technica that 'I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics' the giant wrecking ball he set in motion with the President's blessing will not be soon or easily stopped.
Likewise, Trump's tariffs. They have roiled markets, cut the legs out from long-standing trade relationships and transformed Washington into a near-permanent episode of Let's Make a Deal.
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They have resulted in a frightening and sometimes farcical state-of-affairs that carries the risk of recession or economic ruin for U.S.-dependent countries.
That's why Wednesday's court ruling that two groups of the trade duties were illegal has received a global welcome, though not yet a sense of complete relief.
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump's fentanyl-and-migrant tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China violated the law because 'they do not deal with the threats' outlined in the president's executive orders.
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The court also ruled that separate 'retaliatory' tariffs against a swath of nations, from Australia to India to Madagascar to Vietnam, 'exceed(ed) any authority granted to the president … to regulate importation by means of tariffs.'
The court ruled that this authority, under the law, falls to the U.S. Congress, not the president. Other tariffs on foreign steel, aluminum and cars imports remain in place.
The White House response was unflinching: 'It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency,' a Trump spokesperson said, adding that the President would use 'every lever of executive power' at his disposal.
That puts another wrecking ball in motion — this one on a collision course with the courts.
It will probably only be decided by the Republican-majority justices of the Supreme Court, who have shown some signs of willingness to put up roadblocks for an administration keen on pushing the bounds of presidential powers.
But there are even doubts about Trump's willingness to follow orders from the country's highest court.
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Last month, the administration was ordered to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen mistakenly deported back to his home country despite an order that he should be protected from threats made by gang members against his family.
Abrego Garcia remains in custody, with Trump maintaining that he is a dangerous member of a gang himself, the MS-13, which has been designated as a terrorist organization.
So, it is no time for Trump's exhausted and exasperated opposition to take a breather or a victory lap, though there will be temptations.
The ambitions of Musk, the intergalactic entrepreneur, were sky high. His accomplishments at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency after 130 days, however, were distinctly terrestrial.
A promised US$2 trillion in spending cuts was quickly halved and then halved again. The most recent estimates, posted to the department's website, claim savings of US$175 billion.
In that short time, he effectively dismantled USAID, the government's main foreign assistance program, ended programs, and positions and contracts that promoted Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. His office has also broken faith with public-sector workers.
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The most glaring example of Musk's tactless approach was a now-famous February email demanding that bureaucrats outline 'what they got done last week.'
'Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,' he wrote in an explanatory note on X.
His approach to the public service may have side-swiped the reputation and stock price of his beloved car company, but it also opened a breach in the wall between the realms of public and private interests.
Is it appropriate that a public servant — even if he is the richest man in the world — wear Tesla merchandise to government meetings, as he did the other day when meeting with Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's Director of National Intelligence?
Or for Trump and Musk to host a March photo op that turned the White House driveway into a temporary Tesla dealership?
Whether it's labelled a conflict of interest or corruption, it's a break with something sacred. And it continues.
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Trump drafts cryptocurrency-friendly government policies while, at the same time, pumping the value of his official meme coin. Introduced just a few days before Trump was sworn in for his second term, he promoted it earlier this month by offering crypto investors a meet-the-president dinner that was billed as 'the most exclusive invitation in the world.'
It's now the subject of congressional inquiry, described by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal as 'unprecedented, pay-to-play scheme to provide access to the Presidency to the highest bidder.'
The shiny crypto coin reflects the ego of a man for whom the professional and the political has always been personal.
It started with his family name on branded buildings and golf courses. It continues with his fat-marker signature scrawled at the bottom of presidential executive orders.
But those edicts are at risk of turning a presidential administration into an all-powerful imperial court.
One that takes inspiration from the phrase attributed to Louis XIV, the Sun King, who believed that the laws in 17th century France were whatever he wanted them and declared them to be.
'l'État c'est moi,' he reputedly told French parliamentarians who dared challenge his will. 'I am the state.'