The rulings against the levies in two federal courts – the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. -- centered on Trump's unprecedented invocation of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act as a legal justification for tariffs.

The president called the prominent judicial activist Leonard Leo a “real ‘sleazebag’ ” and said the Federalist Society led him astray in his first term.

The White House called for the Supreme Court to overturn judicial rulings blocking most of the tariffs Trump has imposed to negotiate trade agreements.