U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during an Economic Club of Minnesota event in Golden Valley, Minnesota, U.S., Thursday, January 8, 2026.
Ben Brewer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessant On Sunday, he said it was “very unlikely” that the Supreme Court will overthrow the president Donald Trumpthe use of emergency powers to impose priceswith a potential court decision looming as soon as this week.
“I think it’s very unlikely that the Supreme Court will overturn a president’s economic policies,” Bessent said. NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “They didn’t overturn Obamacare. I think the Supreme Court doesn’t want to create chaos.”
In June, the Supreme Court confirmed a key provision of the Affordable Care Act that established a committee to recommend preventative care services that insurers must provide at no cost to patients.
Bessent’s comments come a day after Trump said he would do so. impose a new round of tariffs on goods from Europe until “an agreement is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland.”
Trump did not specify in his Truth on social media what law he invoked to impose the tariffs, although this decision seems to reflect the “liberation day” duties he imposed on dozens of countries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland will start at 10% on February 1, Trump said. They will then increase to 25% on June 1, Trump said.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Trump’s use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs before the end of his term, but a ruling could come as early as this week. The IEEPA gives the president broad latitude to use economic tools in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”
Read more about CNBC’s politics coverageBessent said Trump’s new tariffs on Europe regarding Greenland are a response to an emergency.
“The national emergency is about avoiding a national emergency,” Bessent said. “This is a strategic decision by the president (…). He is capable of using the economic power of the United States to avoid a hot war.”
Trump has long sought to acquire Greenland, Denmark’s Arctic territory, and has stepped up his pressure campaign for a U.S. takeover of the island in recent weeks. Leaders in Greenland, Denmark and across Europe have largely rejected Trump’s demands to retake the island.
European leaders from countries targeted by the new tariffs responded on Sunday.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to remain united and coordinated in our response,” the leaders of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement.
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. Building on the process started last week, we are ready to engage in dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we strongly support,” the statement said.
vice-president J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt at the White House last week in a meeting Rasmussen called “frank but constructive.”
After the meeting, the group said the U.S. and Denmark establish a high-level working group to chart the future of Greenland.
The Trump administration says the U.S. acquisition of Greenland is essential to national security to counter Russian and Chinese expansion in the region.
CNBC contacted the White House and the Treasury Department to clarify the statute Trump used to impose the new European tariffs.
CORRECTION: Vivian Motzfeldt is Greenland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated its title.
This story is developing. Please check again for updates.
