US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has announced his intention to attend the Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday that will determine the fate of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration.
The US leader has already announced that he will not attend the hearing, citing a desire not to distract from the main topic. Besant, however, plans to attend and hopes to have a “front row seat“. “It's a matter of national security”, he said in an interview with Fox News.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for November 5 to review the legality of many tariffs imposed by the US administration. The case was filed after a group of business representatives sued the U.S. government, claiming that the tariffs were illegal and harmed their companies.
On August 29, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that Trump lacked the necessary authority to impose many of the tariffs he had announced. On September 4, the Trump administration filed a petition with the Supreme Court to overturn the decision.
Trump and senior members of his administration, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and trade negotiator Jamison Greer, have repeatedly stated the need to keep the tariffs in place, arguing that not doing so would jeopardize U.S. trade negotiations with other countries and existing agreements.