The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared ready to scale back the long-standing deference given to the executive branch over regulatory policy in a pair of cases argued Wednesday with broad implications for federal agencies’ flexibility to interpret Congress’ words.
Changing what’s known as the Chevron doctrine could give courts more say in the decisions of federal agencies, an outcome that could ripple through environmental regulations, financial rules and health care benefit decisions. The high court’s decisions in the two cases could also impact presidents’ ability to shape executive policy and the standards courts use when evaluating what Congress meant in legislation.
In the two cases argued Wednesday — Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce — the challengers asked the court to overturn the Chevron doctrine that the federal appeals courts for the District of Columbia and 1st Circuit used to uphold a fishery inspection rule.
