Leonard Shambon
Leonard Shambon

Leonard Shambon is an international trade lawyer, who has worked in both a national law firm and in the Government. He has also served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, counsel to the Clerk of the House, associate counsel to the House Chief Administrative Officer, an Intelligence Editor for the National Intelligence Council, a briefer for economic matters of the President’s Daily Brief, a senior researcher for the Ford-Carter Commission on Federal Election Reform, and Legal Consultant to Cong. Steny Hoyer for the Help America Vote Act.

Columns by Leonard Shambon
Congressional Process and the IEEPA Tariff Case

Leonard Shambon examines whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) grants the President broad authority to impose tariffs, with a focus on congressional intent and legislative history as interpreted through the Supreme Court’s major questions doctrine. Mr. Shambon argues that both the content and procedural handling of the 1977 bill that became IEEPA show Congress never intended to delegate sweeping tariff powers to the President, as evidenced by the lack of involvement from committees with explicit tariff jurisdiction and the absence of any mention of tariffs in legislative documents and discussions.