Who is Neal Katyal, the Indian-origin lawyer behind Trump tariffs verdict

The US Supreme Court's 6-3 decision striking down Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs has put Indian-origin lawyer Neal Katyal in focus, after he successfully argued that only Congress can impose tariff

Indian-origin American lawyer Neal Katyal has emerged at the centre of a landmark US Supreme Court ruling that struck down US President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs. The court, in a 6–3 decision on Friday, held that tariff-setting powers rest with Congress unless clearly delegated, limiting Trump’s power over trade policy.

 

The judgment, authored by US Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by five other justices, marked a significant assertion of constitutional limits on executive authority.

Who is Neal Katyal?

Neal Katyal is one of the most prominent appellate lawyers in the United States. According to reports, he was born in Chicago to Indian immigrant parents- a doctor and an engineer. 

 

 

He went to Dartmouth for his bachelor's degree in government and Indian history, then to the Yale Law School.

 

Katyal has built a distinguished legal career spanning academia and public service.

 

He is the Paul Saunders Professor at Georgetown University and has previously served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States. Katyal has argued around 50 cases before the US Supreme Court, a rare achievement. He has also been a senior fellow at the Charles F Kettering Foundation and a former National Security Adviser at the US Department of Justice. 

  Neal Katyal has argued 50 cases before the US Supreme Court. According to kettering.org, by the age of 53, he had appeared in more Supreme Court cases than any other minority lawyer in American history.

 

Among his distinctions are the Edmund J Randolph Award, the highest civilian honour awarded by the US Justice Department, and The American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Year award.

 

How did he win the case?

 

Katyal represented a group of small businesses challenging Trump’s global tariffs. Following the ruling, he described the decision as a “complete and total victory” for the challengers.

 

In a statement, Katyal said the court’s message was clear: “Presidents are powerful, but our Constitution is still more powerful.” He stressed that in America, only Congress has the authority to impose taxes, adding that tariffs are effectively taxes on the American people. 

My statement:  “Today, the U.S. Supreme Court stood up for the rule of law and Americans everywhere. Its message was simple: Presidents are powerful, but our Constitution is more powerful still. In America, only Congress can impose taxes on the American people.  The US Supreme…

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) February 20, 2026

In an interview to CNN after the verdict, Katyal noted that high-profile constitutional cases are often decided 5–4, but this case resulted in a 6–3 split, including two justices appointed by Trump voting against him. He said the ruling was about separation of powers rather than politics, and about preserving the constitutional structure of government.

 

Who were the judges in the 6–3 ruling?

 

Supreme Court of the United States Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion.

 

The justices who voted to strike down the tariffs were Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

 

The three dissenting justices were Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh. 

  The majority held that the Constitution reserves tariff-setting authority to Congress unless explicitly delegated, rejecting the broad interpretation of executive power advanced by Trump’s administration.

 

Trump’s new tariffs

 

Responding swiftly to the verdict, Donald Trump said he would impose a 10 per cent global tariff on imports. In a post on Truth Social, he announced that he had signed an order from the Oval Office implementing the new tariff with immediate effect.

 

Trump also indicated that further investigations were underway that could pave the way for additional import duties.