A divided US supreme court has overthrown a decades-old legal doctrine that empowered federal regulators to interpret unclear laws, issuing a blockbuster ruling that will constrain environmental, consumer and financial-watchdog agencies.
The decision eliminated a 40-year-old court precedent known as Chevron deference, building on a series of earlier opinions limiting agencies’ policymaking power.
By denying regulatory agencies the leeway to interpret the meaning of ambiguous laws, the court made it tougher for the Biden administration to defend regulations it issued in recent months to tackle climate change, forgive student debt, and crack down on so-called “junk fees.” All are among Biden’s key pitches to voters in his re-election campaign.
“This is as extreme an overruling of Chevron as anybody could have anticipated,” said Sharon Block, a former leader of Biden’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which oversees the White House’s rulemaking process. “I don’t see really any remaining respect for the expertise of agencies.”
Many of Biden’s policy aims depend on interpretations of executive power under older laws, or writing rules where Congress called for standards but left it up to agencies to create them
The ruling came after Biden stumbled in his responses during the presidential debate of the general election.
Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law 117-169), imposes fines on the oil and gas industry for methane emissions. The EPA in January proposed charging energy producers $900 per ton of excess methane emitted this year, with fees rising to $1,500 per ton by 2026.
A statement by Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, reads: “While this decision undermines the ability of federal agencies to use their expertise as Congress intended to make government work for the people, the Biden-Harris Administration will not relent in our efforts to protect and serve every American.”
“The President has directed his legal team to work with the Department of Justice and other agency counsel to review today’s decision carefully and ensure that our administration is doing everything we can to continue to deploy the extraordinary expertise of the federal workforce to keep Americans safe and ensure communities thrive.”
