Who is Neal Katyal? Indian-origin lawyer behind Trump tariff ruling

At the heart of the historic US Supreme Court decision striking down President Donald Trump’s global tariffs is an Indian-origin lawyer , Neal Katyal , who argued the case on behalf of small businesses .

The son of Indian immigrants and former Acting Solicitor General of the United States under President Barack Obama , Katyal challenged the legality of Trump’s levies before America’s highest court, and won . Celebrating the ruling on X , he simply posted: “ Victory .”

In an interview Katyal reflected on the significance of the moment. “One of the great things about the American system is what just happened today. I was able to go to court, the son of immigrants , and say on behalf of American small businesses , ‘Hey, this President is acting illegally ,’” he said. He described the oral arguments as intense, with the justices asking tough questions, and said, “At the end, they voted and we won . That is something extraordinary about this country, the system self-corrects . Even the most powerful man in the world cannot break the Constitution .”

Born in Chicago in 1970 to a pediatrician mother and engineer father, Katyal is a partner at Milbank LLP in Washington DC and a member of its Litigation & Arbitration Group . Following the verdict, he praised the Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law . “Presidents are powerful, but our Constitution is more powerful still. In America, only Congress can impose taxes. The Supreme Court gave us everything we asked for,” he said.

Katyal credited the Liberty Justice Centre for its leadership in the case, emphasizing that the fight was about the presidency and separation of powers , not any single political figure. “I’m gratified to see our Supreme Court , which has been the bedrock of our government for 250 years , protect our most fundamental values,” he added.

A Yale Law School graduate, Katyal has argued 54 cases before the Supreme Court and taught for over two decades at Georgetown University Law Centre, earning one of the youngest tenures and a chaired professorship in its history. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale law schools. His career includes clerking for Justice Stephen G. Breyer and Judge Guido Calabresi, serving as National Security Advisor in the Deputy Attorney General’s office, and receiving the Edmund Randolph Award , the US Department of Justice’s highest civilian honour.

In a symbolic nod to his roots, Katyal posted on X last November a photograph of a traditional Indian ‘kada’ (bangle) placed on a Supreme Court brief , writing, “Thinking of my father first and foremost, who came to this land of freedom … May the Constitution win .”