Transcript
Trump’s Tariffs VS the Supreme Court (Hour 1)
Daybreak w/ Brian and Jamie · Mon Feb 23, 2026
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I hear rolls off the tongue.
Yeah.
Good morning, everybody.
She is Jamie Martinson.
I'm Brian Noonan.
And up until Friday, this was Civic Media Mornings.
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They told us, even though we didn't approach it that way.
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It's ours.
But Jamie, as things happen, change comes to everybody.
Yes.
Change has come to civic media.
So I will let you, as one of the suits, I will let you explain.
You'll
the Civic Media Network until 9 a.m.
unless you are listening on WMDX then you will go to Stephanie Miller at 8 a.m.
We are going to then be joined by Tom Hartman from 11 until 2 on the network and then we have a brand new show that will be debuting this afternoon it is called the Jeff Santow show that will be from 2 to 5 and then we will end our broadcast our talk broadcast with Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.
from five to seven p.m.
So you can catch them.
That will be a little mix of entertainment, some politics, everything we're saying from Washington to Wisconsin.
So it should be a very fun
two
All the things that we would say at the end of the old show is, oh, man, I wish we had some more time.
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Kill this.
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Yes.
Thank you, partner.
No, I was talking about Frank.
You'll figure.
And then sometimes there's just...
voices we don't we don't know but there's a lot going on there and they give us the facts and that's so the focus of the show isn't going to change no the facts are going to lead there will be opinion because well we're human and we have opinion yep but all those opinions are going to be based hopefully in facts and we will we will strive to give you the facts of the story and let you kind of parse it out for yourself absolutely
A little help from us, if it helps.
If it doesn't help disregard the opinion.
And we'll have some good
If you've been, I don't know where you could have been, maybe Iran getting ready for a military strike, but that's in the next hour too.
But the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's far reaching global tariffs in a 6-3 decision.
That means all three conservative judges went to the other side and actually supported the Constitution, which
is nuts.
So this was his a horrible loss for the president on his economic policy and his big agenda and
Boy, he didn't take it well, Jamie.
Now, the justices said that the Constitution clearly gives Congress, not the president, the power to set taxes and tariffs.
It's pesky, pesky Constitution again.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the founders did not give any part of that taxing power to the executive branch.
And I thought Justice Neil Gore, such as writing for the majority, was really interesting because he emphasized that while legislating can be slow,
and frustrating, that process ensures laws reflect the combined wisdom of the people's elected representatives, not just one person, interestingly enough.
He called it a bulwark of liberty, even when the outcome disappoints.
Now, Trump, as we all know, had imposed these tariffs under a 1977 emergency powers law and argued that it allowed him to regulate imports during a national emergency.
The courts ruled that the law does not clearly authorize broad global
and that the major economic decisions like that must come from Congress.
And
Yes.
I
So that was obviously him talking about how he's going to implement these tariffs because, be Friday afternoon, he announced a new global tariff, first 10% then raising it to 15% over the weekend in some truth social post.
This time, he's using section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows a temporary tariff of up to 15% for 150 days to address serious trade imbalances.
After that, Congress had to act to extend it.
But this is where he criticizes the courts.
This is cut, too, please.
No, no, no, they are being 100 we didn't play the part and I don't think it's I Don't think it's in the next clip where he said they were under the influence of foreign powers Yeah, where I was at that point.
I was like, okay He's he is so far off the reservation.
There's no bringing him back and to say that you're disloyal to the Constitution because you actually Interpret it and this is what has bothered me about
the Supreme Court, not just this court, but for a while, it's not supposed to be partisan.
Right.
Their job is what they actually did on Friday.
They did what they were supposed to do.
And there's always a dissenting opinion is OK.
Yeah.
Because but they looked at the law, just the law and made the decision based on the Constitution.
And you, you know, the president can argue all different ways.
But anybody who studies the law any legal scholar is they were right.
This is it's written down.
We Yes, they interpret the law based on what the case before them is But this was the right thing to do and yes president who handpicked these people he handpicked them thinking that they would be his lap dogs To use his terminology.
cut
That's saying the quiet part out loud, right?
Because it basically lays bare what this administration believes tariffs are really all about.
And this isn't just about balancing trade numbers.
It's not just about negotiating leverage.
This is a worldview from this particular administration.
And this goes back to what we've talked about multiple times and was talked about during the election process.
This is isolationism, right?
This is isolationism when you're trying to destroy other countries and history tells us
that isolationism will always come with consequences, whether that's economically or whether that's politically.
And we can debate the trade deficits.
We can sit here and debate manufacturing policy.
Those are all very fair conversations to have, but.
when the underlying message is we're pulling back from the world, that is really dangerous territory for a country whose economy is deeply tied to the global markets.
And let's be clear, there's gonna be financial ramifications from all of this.
The stakes for what's happened are huge, simply because there's $175 billion in refunds that the United States could now owe because of these tariffs.
We wanna talk about that because,
Somebody's owed some money if this is the case.
Is it you?
Is it businesses?
We're going to talk about that.
We want to hear from you, your thoughts on this weekend's event, 855-75-CIVIC, 855-75-248-42.
That's how you get ahold of us.
Jamie, let's hear the new name
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We were talking about the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Constitution, which immediately put them at odds with the current administration over their tariffs.
The administration has stated over the weekend that they will be increasing global tariffs to 15% using, they're gonna try some different finagling.
These tariffs will go into effect for 150 days.
However, the big question over the weekend, Jamie, was we took in all of this money
from the
We've collected, according to the Treasury, $133 billion with these tariffs that have now been shown to be illegal.
Right.
Yeah, where's that money go?
Who's gonna get it back?
It's supposed to have cost American families upwards of sixteen seventeen hundred dollars right these extra tariffs because despite Conversations to the alternative Tariffs are paid by you and I
Two weeks is usually the standard bearer for this particular administration.
But customs had already been collected, as you mentioned, on $133 billion.
And I think that's a number that we have to keep in mind, because those are tariffs as of December.
And obviously, you had another two months of growth in there.
So we don't actually know what the full number is going to be yet.
On Friday, the court did not directly order refunds, but they did say that the government can't
didn't really say that the government can keep the money either.
Several states and companies are now seeking repayment in court.
Nevada, Illinois, and California have already been the most vocal about saying, are you gonna refund each family the $1,700 that they deserve back in these tariffs?
Now, Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the dissent warned that sorting out the refunds could be messy, especially since many businesses have already passed those costs onto the consumers.
because, again, you actually pay for those costs.
Well, no, of course not.
Because because daddy was very proud of Justice Kavanaugh.
Yes, he called him out.
I know you know and I know one of the following the story there's a local toy company who was instrumental in this Supreme Court case a Northwest suburban Chicago toy company small importer and they make educational toys well now they're they're going to be on this mm-hmm
to along with the state trying to get money back as every business should be.
We talked to Rico Torres from the Journal Sentinel the other day about how much in tariffs Harley Davidson had to pay.
You don't think Harley Davidson wants to get that money back?
You don't think anybody in any interest, you don't think some of these farmers want some money back
from
be
And tariffs were just very much a part of that.
Now, what I think is gonna be interesting because this battle is not over, right?
Because this new tariff that he put into place over this weekend, let's be clear, they only have 150 days before Congress has to...
be involved in whether or not these are legal, whether these are just.
So this is just a battle that's starting now, and Congress hasn't even been in session for two weeks now.
Again,
this is this is a president who is now I Believe out of control and believes he doesn't have to go through the other branches of government thinks he can Unilaterally decide things and now that the Supreme Court has done their job.
He's starting to realize.
Oh There there was a there is a point and the law hopefully will continue to rule
Rather than one man
the checks and balances are still there according to the Constitution and we still have people minus the Congress who are willing to uphold those checks and balances the courts, you know, here's the thing I I understand that this administration Ends up in court a lot.
I understand they push the boundaries.
I understand that we don't always like the outcome
But the courts are actually adhering, a majority of them, let's be realistic.
We've
also
But the courts...
for the majority are holding up.
They now need Congress to do their part to also make sure that these pillars of what we know as our government, our Constitution, are in existence.
And this is where this particular administration is going to have problems.
Because when leaders are openly framing things like global trade as something to be walled off, that's not just minor policy tweaking.
That's a philosophical pivot.
And we need people to uphold the Constitution, not just the courts.
They're going to need
help to do that.
It bolstered my confidence in the course of this decision this week when I saw his handpicked justices picking the law and the Constitution over him.
Yes.
When we come back, speaking of laws and Constitution, the Wisconsin Assembly skiedaddled for their nine month vacation, but they got some things done.
He did.
And then they left some things unfinished.
We'll talk about all of that after this.
What is it, Jamie?
It's 635 right now.
You are listening to the Civic Media Network.
This is Daybreak with Brian and Jamie.
If you're listening in Eau Claire on 93.5 the tap or in La Crosse on WLCX up in Hayward on WBZH.
We are so glad that you are here.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
Good to have you here.
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We spent the last half hour talking about tariffs and what the Supreme Court did.
Now we must turn our attention up the street to the Wisconsin State Capitol where, as we know, Friday was the last day, Jamie.
They had worked, oh man, tirelessly for about what, a month, month and a half.
Maybe about a
And now the legislators are tired and the outgoing Robin Vos gavilled them out for their legislative session.
Maybe they come back for a special session in the spring if the governor gets his way.
Maybe they don't, we don't know, but we do know
that they did get some things done.
They're still debating some other things.
Some things important were kind of left on the table.
You know, they made a little progress in this session.
And I think if you're a Wisconsin voter, you'd like to see the assembly not gavel out and continue some of that important work for the 2025-26 session.
And the final days were very dramatic.
Now, on Friday, we talked about a couple of those big healthcare bills that had been stalled for months that Robin Voss finally allowed to come to a vote.
The first extends Medicaid coverage for new mothers from 60 days to a full 12 months after childbirth.
Wisconsin was one of only two states not offering this year long extension.
The other was Arkansas, by the way.
The second major known as Gale's Law, what
Yeah.
The second major known as Gale's Law,
insurance companies to cover supplemental breast cancer screenings such as MRIs and ultrasounds for women with dense breast tissue with outpaying any out-of-pocket costs.
Now several major bills have already been signed into law this legislative session.
One new law requires all Wisconsin school districts to adopt policies banning cell phone use during instructional time.
Now you were a former teacher, how
Yeah, oh, the cell phone.
I'm sorry.
No, no, no, you're good.
You're good.
Yes.
No, I'm 100% behind that.
Here's the deal.
I think there are ways, and I remember talking about this when the bill was proposed, cell phones are a distraction.
If I am a parent of a kid in this day and age, I do want my child to have some access to me.
The problem is if you have a...
grade school kid or a teenager.
You know they're not really using it to call mom and dad.
They're playing Fortnite.
They're doing whatever it is.
They're texting their friends.
So there has to be some sort of way to do it.
Even if it's the teacher has a basket on the desk on her on their desk and the phones go in the basket and then the phones are returned.
You know
when you
line up to go to lunch you grab your phone and when you come back you drop it off and then but then you also have to have that strict
Policy for infractions right there has to be some accountability, but yes you have to Instruction time is instruction time and we we would occasionally have care.
We had the rule the phones had to stay in the lockers Which is partway there, but it doesn't address the God forbid there's a need for kids to be sheltered in place and they have to get a hold of their parents so
It was off to a good start.
We would have a couple kids try to sneak it in and then, you know, it was all right.
You know, you have to take that back.
And that's always going to happen.
But they knew the expectations.
They didn't usually argue because they knew, you know, that was the way it goes.
So yeah, I'm for not having
phones.
A long-winded answer to your question after I had a little mental breakdown.
It's a
It's good.
So in this particular law that the legislature did pass in Wisconsin, schools have to have their policies in place by this year.
Now lawmakers also approved the creation of a statewide nuclear power summit and a formal study to examine potential sites for future nuclear or fusion energy projects in Wisconsin.
The governor talked about this in his state of the state.
They've actually
teamed with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for some of those projects.
Another new law from this session gives candidates a clear path to withdraw their names from the election ballots under certain circumstances, something that previously was not very well-defined in Wisconsin state law.
They also passed Braden's law.
This makes sex distortion a felony in Wisconsin.
The law criminalizes threatening someone to obtain sexual images or for sexual conduct, and it was also named after a Wisconsin
constant teenager who died by suicide after being targeted.
And then finally, there's a new patient protection law that now requires written consent before medical professionals can perform a pelvic exam on a patient who is unconscious or under anesthesia.
So they got some things done because those measures are now officially part of Wisconsin law.
So as much as we joke about this nine month vacation, there were some things that happened.
Despite-
Yes.
Right now, Wisconsin is sitting on that projected $2.4 billion budget surplus, billion with a B. Republicans want to use a large portion of it for tax rebates, $500 for individuals, $1,000 for married couples, along with the property tax relief through school levy credits.
Now, Governor Evers says he wants more direct funding for public schools, particularly general equalization aid, arguing districts are turning to local referendums to fill gaps.
Well, we'll never know.
the answer is because they gaveled out.
The future of the Knowles Nelson stewardship conservation program is also uncertain without legislative action.
The long-running land preservation program will expire this summer.
This has been a long, ongoing conversation.
The Republicans have wanted very little movement on this, and I shouldn't say all.
There has been a little bit of a bipartisan effort, but probably not enough to get this moving since it has officially stalled.
Other items still in play include releasing already approved funds, funding for PFAS cleanup, a proposal to legalize online sports betting through tribal partnerships and long-term funding for Wisconsin Eye, which of course is that nonprofit network that broadcast state government proceedings.
The assembly has likely finished their regular work for this session.
That is the important part to keep in mind.
The
Senate
does remain possible.
From what I am understanding, I would not hold my breath to see that.
I would not see Robin Voss bringing back the assembly to get any of this work done.
And there are some major bills that are still heading to the governor's list.
The medical, the Medicare, the expansion
So those are big wins, not only for Democrats, but for all
all the women of Wisconsin.
So ladies, congratulations.
Good for you.
Does it bother anybody else that the business of the state?
is run like a television show with a cliffhanger at the end, where we don't know now what's going to happen.
We've got some things in place.
Will there be online gambling?
What will happen with the budget surplus?
Tune in next season for episode one.
But don't miss episode two, because that's the last one.
We only do two episodes, and then we go home.
In their defense though, we talked to Representative DeSanto on Friday.
And she, along with a lot of other legislators, are saying, no, we don't want to go.
We don't want to stay and get the work done.
Right.
So it's not.
It's not everybody.
I don't want to point fingers, but you can use your intelligence.
You can figure out who wants to go home.
I'll point fingers.
Is the length of the term written down anywhere?
Yes, it is.
They're fulfilling their letter of the law.
I guess.
And it's infuriating.
It is.
When you say, wait, it's nobody else.
I'm sure everybody listening this morning, us included, would say, oh, nine month paid vacation.
Awesome.
I'm in.
Right.
I will bust my hump from New Year's Day to the end of February, and then see after Christmas.
Conservation funding, school support, transparency, the PFAS cleanup.
Walking away this early should raise some serious questions, and I don't care how you vote, whether you're a Democrat, whether you're Republican, whether you're an independent, you should expect the people that you sent to Madison to work until the job is actually done, because that's what
you elected them to do.
And to be clear, once again, the Democrats are not in control.
If they were, they would still be at the Capitol working on all of these issues that affect each and every one of us in our daily lives.
And
Do you know how furious Parker is that they didn't get to this online gambling thing?
Parker?
Because he's a degenerate.
My friend wants to bet on every friend's game.
He wants to bet on every badgers football game in the upcoming season.
I want to bet like nobody's walking.
Personally, no, my generation.
Yes.
he
So he's obviously been more successful.
He's the frugal of my two young men in the house.
But I don't understand the online betting thing.
When it comes to like Kentucky Derby, let's be honest, I just picked the horse with the best name.
I don't really care.
I
mean, that's
a
theory of Vegas is completely lost on me It really truly is other than a few shows I just don't understand the appeal of Las Vegas And I know that is contrary to a lot of people because I know that there are people who love Vegas I am not one of those people.
I like to go out and
the desert and do the tours and a little hiking when I'm in Vegas
watched a really interesting thing yesterday about how Vegas is a good microcosm and reflector of the overall economy and now
regular people the tourism numbers are down because Vegas has priced themselves out because unlike when the mob was there and it was like get people in and keep them at the tables no matter no matter how cheap the rooms are and the food and everything is Vegas now is catering toward the ultra rich and so
Normal people aren't going, but Vegas is still making a profit because there's a lot of ultra-rich people in the world, I guess.
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I'll be honest.
I am not a huge this is gonna put me in the minority and show my age I'm not a big YouTube enthusiast sure even though my podcast is on YouTube Crafty Brewers Tales Behind Craft Beer a little shameless plug.
I don't care Don't at me.
You don't have and we're on YouTube.
We're on YouTube right
I just was late to the party sure but people remember
More than 20 years ago when YouTube burst onto the scene and it was just you'd go there for I don't know I don't even remember what they put on there, but now They're deeming YouTube Museum worthy Jamie at least at the Victoria at Albert Museum in London
They have an exhibit highlighting the birth of YouTube.
It's just a man flipping a switch.
the
is
So this video has been viewed more than 380 million times in this course of its 21 years.
The museum's digital team spent about 18 months rebuilding what the YouTube watch page looked like in its very early days, specifically from late 2006, working on
YouTube's design team, working with YouTube's design team, I should say, to make it as accurate as they possibly could.
This exhibit is now on display in the museum's Design 1900 Now Gallery, and it gives any visitor a snapshot of the early internet era.
And a lot of people remember that as the start of Web 2.0.
Now, people at the museum say that the goal isn't just to show this old video of some guy standing in front of elephants with really, really long trunks, but to highlight the...
a global cultural phenomenon began, one that continues to shape entertainment, art, and everyday life around the world.
I mean, there are
And there's now YouTube TV with all the streaming services and comics and musicians put their specials directly to YouTube.
You don't have to go through the old channels of distribution and hoping a network will buy your show.
You can just, if you have a fan base, you can go to YouTube and with the monetizing.
And all of that you can do very well on YouTube and it is it is a cultural phenomenon to think 20 years is not a long time to go from that because think of all the other Video-based social media platforms that have come and go it gone in that time You know there's a my spine
Yes
you know, TikTok, TikTok changed the game with short form stuff.
Whereas now YouTube, but even, even now, and I know very, I have limited knowledge of this, but even now you need, you need shorts on YouTube.
YouTube wants shorts that are doing very well and it's all, so it is grown and the Victorian Albert Museum is gorgeous.
If you ever get a chance to go to London, see a museum.
Not all of them.
There's too many.
But you can go to some.
a superstar in fixing our dishwashers, fixing our sinks, our cars, because there's always a tutorial.
And in our personal life, not only do my husband and I do this radio gig, but we also own a storm chasing company.
And we've been going for basically as long as YouTube 20 years now, in fact.
And a majority of our chases are now broadcast.
not only on the platform we built from scratch, but also over on YouTube.
And it's a major part of how our chasers make money to continue their ventures of going out and pursuing dangerous weather situations.
And then, of course, informing the public about what's happening.
You know, because now they can interact with people
over on
You made a good point.
Cause now if you, now you always feel like, well, I can, if it's a minor task, I can, I can learn it from YouTube.
how to tie a bow tie bookmark.
That's where I learned to tie a bow tie is on YouTube.
How I've done a million.
You're laughing, Parker.
No, because
When you put up that very first video standing in front of the elephants with really, really long trunks, did you ever think that YouTube would be what it is or did you just think that it was gonna be a place for silly goofy videos to humor people?
Like that would
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