Kudlow acknowledges executive orders may end up in court: ‘We’re going to go ahead with our actions anyways’

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the coronavirus relief-related executive orders signed by President Trump over the weekend may end up in court, but the administration is “going to go ahead with our actions anyway.”

“Our counsel’s office, the Treasury Department believes it has the authority to temporarily suspend tax collections. So we’re banking on that. We’ve had also a repurposing of funds. … That was decided in our favor in the Supreme Court case regarding the Mexican wall a while back. So we think we can do it,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I appreciate those things. Maybe we’re going to go to court on them. We’re going to go ahead with our actions anyways,” Kudlow tells @GStephanopoulos when pressed on criticism by GOP Sen. Sasse that Trump’s payroll tax deferral is “unconstitutional slop.” https://t.co/UsD0N9aYk0 pic.twitter.com/7PV2NVw2xy

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 9, 2020

A number of lawmakers, including several Republicans, have questioned the legality of the orders signed by Trump Saturday evening. One order extends the now-expired enhanced unemployment benefit until the end of the year but lowers it from $600 to $400, another defers payroll tax payments, a third defers student loan payments and a final order aims to prevent evictions while not actually extending a full moratorium.

{mosads}Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) called the theory behind the orders “constitutional slop” while Rep. Justin Amash (L-Mich.), a libertarian who left the Republican caucus last year, compared the president’s actions to those of a “king.”

Other Republican lawmakers avoided criticizing the president, but said they would rather see congressional action on coronavirus relief.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), appearing on “This Week” ahead of Kudlow, declined to comment on the legality of the orders but said they don’t “do the job.”