Supreme Court Conservatives and the Battle Over Agency Power
This article delves into the ongoing battle in the Supreme Court over agency power and the potential consequences of disregarding agency expertise. It explores the perspectives of conservative advocates and the implications of overturning the 1984 Chevron ruling.
The High Stakes of Supreme Court Battle
Wealthy business entities and conservative advocates have been building toward this Supreme Court moment for decades. And now with three appointees of former President Donald Trump on the bench, their goal appears within reach, and the regulatory world could be turned on its head.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13604369b) The United States Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, USA, 01 November 2022. The Supreme Court has granted a temporary administrative stay preventing the release of tax returns of former US President Donald J. Trump that were sought by the House Ways and Means Committee. United State Supreme Court, Washington, Usa - 01 Nov 2022
Justices who have been gradually constraining federal regulators sounded ready during arguments on Wednesday to make their most substantial move yet and gut a 1984 ruling that has given US agencies wide latitude over policy, from environmental protection to workplace safety.
Reversal of the so-called Chevron deference approach was a priority for the judicial selection team that served Trump – on par with some right-wing activists’ quest for reversal of constitutional abortion rights. The reconstituted Supreme Court delivered on that agenda item in 2022 when it overturned Roe v. Wade.
ATKINSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - JANUARY 16: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Atkinson Country Club on January 16, 2024 in Atkinson, New Hampshire. Trump won this week's Iowa caucus, solidifying him as the lead Republican nominee in the first balloting of 2024. The former U.S. President heads to Atkinson, New Hampshire today as he continues campaigning during the primary election. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The Trump Administration's Influence
Former White House counsel Don McGahn, who controlled Trump’s judicial selections, regularly touted the administration’s anti-regulation agenda. He was especially drawn to the first two Trump appointees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, for their records in that regard.
The Trump administration’s disdain for the so-called administrative state was shared by two other key players in its judicial project: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who sped candidates through the Senate during Trump’s four years, and Leonard Leo, a Federalist Society leader who has raised and channeled millions of dollars to conservative social causes and big business initiatives.
Business groups have argued that the Chevron principle requiring judges generally to defer to agency interpretations of their statutory mandates has led to an uncontrolled bureaucracy that inevitably, and unfairly, gets the upper hand in litigation. The Biden administration, backed by public health, labor, and environmental advocates in the current cases, has stressed agency expertise and the value of uniform, nationwide rules overseen by executive-branch agencies.
The Impact of Overturning Chevron
During more than three hours of fast-paced arguments Wednesday, the conservative majority was largely in lockstep against the 1984 ruling of Chevron USA, Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council.
With the momentum against the Chevron principle palpable in the courtroom, liberal justices highlighted the potential consequences of disregarding agency expertise.
Kagan offered several hypothetical scenarios that reflected the many ways the Chevron case, among the most cited Supreme Court precedent on the books, affects government mandates and benefits.
