Supreme Court Ruling Deals Blow to Bureaucratic Overreach

In a landmark decision on Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Chevron v Natural Resources Defense Council. Under Chevron, if a law granting a federal agency the power to enact regulations is later determined to be ambiguous, then courts would defer to the federal agency’s interpretation of the law when the federal agency’s regulations are reasonable. Thus, courts were required to defer to federal agencies when interpreting certain regulations.

Under Friday’s 6-3 decision overruling Chevron, courts are no longer required to give deference to an agency’s interpretation of regulations. Rather, courts are permitted to determine whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority without consideration of how agencies interpret the very laws that give them to the power to regulate certain activities. Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise and Whip Emmer released a statement following the ruling: “For forty years, Chevron deference has led to a massive expansion of the federal government and a reduction of Congress’ role in the policymaking process. Chevron upended the separation of powers between our three branches of government and is responsible for many of the burdensome regulations that stifle progress and curtail liberty. Today’s landmark decision by the Court restores the balance outlined by the Founders in our Constitution and represents the beginning of the end of the administrative state.”

MHI is evaluating how this decision will favorably impact its ongoing litigation with the Department of Energy.