Trump lost the tariff war in the Supreme Court because of Indian origin, who is this lawyer?

Donald Trump’s tariff policy was declared illegal by the US Supreme Court on Friday. Rejected all the tariffs imposed by him on various countries including India. It is from that source that Indian-origin Neel Katyal has come to the center of discussion. Because it was because of him that the US President was arrested in the Supreme Court.

Trump raised import tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 or IEEP, citing national security concerns and dealing with trade deficits. Neel, the son of an Indian immigrant, made his argument by calling this decision of the President unconstitutional. Accepting his argument, the Supreme Court said that the law did not give this right to the President. It is beyond his control. He cannot impose additional tariffs without the consent of Congress. It should be noted that the law is supposed to be used when a state of emergency is declared in America.

A group of small businesses sued Trump’s tariffs. They are provided legal assistance by ‘Liberty Justice Centre’. After the Supreme Court verdict, Neil said, “Today the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the rule of law. The President may be powerful, but the Constitution is stronger than him. Only Congress can tax the people in America.” He added, “This case is not against any individual. It is a question of separation of powers and protecting the basic structure of the Constitution.”

Neel was born to an Indian immigrant family in Chicago. Father was a doctor, mother an engineer. Neil attended Dartmouth College and Yale Law School. He also served as an assistant to US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. In 2010, Neil was appointed as the Acting Solicitor General of America by then US President Barack Obama. At that time, he argued several important cases in the Supreme Court on behalf of the government. He also served as a special public prosecutor in the George Floyd murder case in Minnesota.

Neil is currently an associate at legal aid firm Milbank LLP and a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. For his contribution as a lawyer, he was awarded the Edmund Bandolph Award, the US Department of Justice’s highest civilian honor. Neal was also ranked in the 2024 and 2025 list of America’s Top 200 Lawyers by Forbes. He said that this ruling made it clear that no US president can bypass Congress to impose tariffs. The lawyer said, “The greatest strength of this country is that the system can correct itself. Even if you are the most powerful man in the world, you cannot break the constitution.”