Court Delivers Massive Blow to Administrative State in Landmark Ruling Ending ‘Chevron Deference’…
June 29, 2024 (6 hours ago)
The Supreme Court just dealt a massive blow to the “administrative state” in a landmark ruling ending the nearly 40-year practice of so-called “Chevron deference.”
For those unfamiliar with the legal doctrine, “Chevron deference” refers to a principle outlined in Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council in 1984. To understand the meaning and purpose of this principle, it is important to note that many times Congress passes laws that are ambiguous and vague, and therefore difficult for relevant regulatory agencies to implement in every respect. The Chevron ruling held that the courts would generally be deferential to administrative agencies’ interpretations of statutes relevant to their scope of action. For instance, the principle of Chevron deference means that courts would defer to the IRS’ interpretation of tax laws, the EPA’s interpretation of environmental laws, and so forth.
The rationale behind this principle is that the regulatory agencies have experts who are in the best position to fill in the gaps where a law passed by Congress is ambiguous or vague. From a constitutional point of view, however, many conservatives have noted that this poses some severe problems when it comes to the constitutional design of separation of powers. After all, Congress is supposed to make laws, and executive agencies are supposed to enforce them. With Chevron deference, however, it increasingly seemed as though regulatory agencies themselves were effectively making the laws they execute by virtue of their broad scope of interpretation, and indeed, at a certain point, interpreting law amounts to making law. Apart from the constitutional issue, many on the right were deeply troubled by the authority Chevron deference placed in the hands of unelected bureaucrats, often from agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, that have stifled economic growth with arguably unnecessary regulation. In general, it is fair to say that the 40 years we have experienced under Chevron have contributed massively to the bloat of what some might call the “administrative state.”
Needless to say, many on the right are thrilled.
The Supreme Court just struck down the Chevron Doctrine which has poisoned our country in recent decades. This is a seismic ruling. The people we elect to make the laws aren’t the ones who actually make the laws today, it’s unelected bureaucrats in the administrative state.… https://t.co/b72ZatF1nW
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 28, 2024
Today’s SCOTUS decision dismantled Chevron deference and stripped away the power it wrongly gave to unelected bureaucrats years ago. This is a win for every American. The whims of an unaccountable administrative state should never rule our lives. https://t.co/h8omIu8rs1
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 28, 2024
Those on the left are correspondingly despondent.
Chevron is now overruled. The administrative state just died. The imperial judiciary joins the imperial presidency, relegating Congress to a secondary role except when it legislates with unrealistic specificity and foresight.
— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) June 28, 2024